Walt Wells is Vols’ New Recruiting Weapon

Tennessee promoted Walt Wells to offensive line coach back in early February to replace Don Mahoney. Wells was on staff before that as a quality control assistant coach, but his promotion to Vols’ offensive line coach is his first job at a Power-5 school.

And Wells is already flourishing in his first major job.

According to the 247Sports recruiter rankings, Walt Wells is now a top-5 recruiter in the nation. In just one class, Wells has been the main recruiter for five-star Cade Mays, four-star Brendon Harris, four-star D’Andre Litaker, three-star Jacob Warren, three-star Ollie Lane, and three-star Shatar McClay. Wells has been the main recruiter for three of the five highest-rated recruits in the Vols’ 2018 class and has helped secure commitments from six of the Vols’ 13 commitments in the class.

He also has helped pick up commitments from four-star Cameron Wynn and three-star Adonis Otey in the 2019 class.

Wells has yet to show what he can do as a coach in the field, but his prowess on the recruiting trail is already paying off for Tennessee. Wells was expected to help the Vols recruit well in the mid-state area, but so far he’s been an effective recruiter in several areas across the state.

Litaker wasn’t the first mid-state recruit Wells has helped gain a commitment from, but he was the highest-rated from that area so far. McClay is from the middle Tennessee area as well. Mays, Warren, and Lane are all in the east Tennessee area, and Harris is in Chattanooga. Wynn is from Chattanooga and Otey is from Murfreesboro in the 2019 cycle.

The state of Tennessee has a loaded class of prospects in the 2018 recruiting cycle. There are nine players rated as four-stars or higher in the state of Tennessee for this current recruiting class, and several of the higher-rated three-stars are either committed to Power-5 schools or have several offers from top-tier schools.

So far, Wells is taking advantage of that growth of talent inside Tennessee’s borders. He’s proven to be the Vols’ best recruiter in the 2018 class so far. Mike Canales is the next-closest Tennessee staff member in the rankings, and he comes in at No. 40 on the list.

Wells will ultimately be defined by what he does as an actual coach on the field. But he’s off to a hot start as a recruiter for Tennessee, and he’s the Vols’ new recruiting weapon.