Tennessee’s new coaching staff is making a push to add big bodies along the defensive line for the Vols’ future roster. They already have two commitments from huge defensive linemen in their 2019 class, and they’re looking to add more. And they got some good news about one of their biggest targets along the defensive line on Tuesday.
C.J. Clark is a huge, four-star defensive tackle out of New London, North Carolina, and he released his top five schools in his recruitment via Twitter. And Tennessee was among his finalists.
No order UNC?,NCSTATE?,Tennessee ?, UGA?, USC? pic.twitter.com/61MbEOLehk
— CeeJay✨ (@cfrmda4) April 10, 2018
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Clark is the No. 277 overall player and No. 19 defensive tackle in the 2019 class. Those rankings also have him listed as the 11th-best player in the state of North Carolina. Right now, Clark holds offers from Alabama, Georgia, Penn State, South Carolina, North Carolina, and others.
Clark is listed at 6-foot-3, 303 pounds, but he doesn’t look it on film. Not that he looks small; he just moves very well for a big man. Clark doesn’t give up on plays and uses his surprising speed to chase running backs and harass quarterbacks. He’s used on both offense and defense for North Stanley High School, but his highest ceiling is likely on defense. Clark has a good push and just has a knack for making plays. He’ll need to play lower and work on his lower body strength, but he has a solid base of talent and technique to work with.
In his high school career, Clark has played in 33 games and has totaled 295 tackles, 15 sacks, six quarterback hurries, eight forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and four passes defended according to Max Preps. He also got a safety during his junior season last year.
Tennessee offered Clark back on January 30th, and the Vols’ coaches have done enough in that short time to be considered one of his favorites in his recruitment. He’s unofficially visited N.C. State, North Carolina, and South Carolina over the last couple months.
The Vols have five players currently committed in their 2019 class, and two of them are defensive tackles like Clark. Three-star defensive tackle LeDarrius Cox and JUCO defensive tackle Darel Middleton are two of the Vols’ five commits in their 2019 recruiting class right now.
