Jeremy Pruitt mentioned on National Signing Day earlier this year that he and his staff weren’t done with the 2018 class. Since then, they’ve added three-star junior college cornerback Kenneth George Jr. to the class and moved on from in-state athlete Joseph Norwood. And now, they’ve made another addition, and it’s a big one.
According to a report from 247Sports, Tennessee has added former South Carolina commit and four-star wide receiver Bryce Thompson to their 2018 class. Thompson confirmed the move to 247Sports, saying “I’m heading there now.”
Thompson is ranked as the No. 301 overall player and No. 12 athlete in the 2018 class. He committed to the Gamecocks back in December and was intent on signing with them, but his grades seemed to be an issue. But Thompson was still insistent even as late as March that he was going to sign with South Carolina and cited his improving grades as reason why.
But in April, the school decided to part ways with the talented athlete. And a month and a half later, he’s now getting ready to play for Tennessee.
Thompson visited both Tennessee and Marshall while his status was still in limbo. He was also once committed to Virginia Tech during his recruitment, but he decommitted from them in June of 2017 and chose the Gamecocks a few months later. But now he’ll be wearing the orange and white of Tennessee this fall.
The versatile athlete played everywhere on the field for Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina. It’s likely he’ll project as a wide receiver for Tennessee, but knowing Jeremy Pruitt and his staff, the four-star athlete will get a shot at defensive back as well.
The 6-foot, 180 pound athlete shot up recruiting rankings over the last year, and it’s easy to see why when you look at his film. He’s a dynamic athlete who has a penchant for making big plays on both sides of the ball. His film is full of him making defenders look silly trying to bring him down, and there are defensive highlights of him making impressive plays too. He played receiver, running back, wildcat quarterback, and safety in high school. He’s still a little raw from a technique perspective, but he has superb return skills and has athleticism you can’t teach.
As a senior, Thompson caught 44 passes for 630 yards and six touchdowns while adding 154 carries for 1,369 yards and 29 touchdowns as well according to MaxPreps. On defense, he totaled 28 tackles, five tackles for loss, an interception, two passes defended, and a forced fumble.
Assuming all goes smoothly from now until the start of fall semester, Thompson will be eligible to play immediately for the 2018 season and provide another play-maker for either Tennessee’s offense or defense this fall.
With Thompson’s commitment, the Vols’ 2018 class moved up one more spot in the “final” 2018 recruiting rankings, jumping from No. 20 up to No. 19. And fittingly, the team they leaped over was South Carolina, Thompson’s former school.
