Tennessee added to their 2019 recruiting class on Monday thanks to a former in-state player choosing to come back to Knoxville for college.
Chris Akporoghene, a three-star offensive tackle originally from Nigeria, tweeted out on Monday afternoon that he plans to play for the Vols after high school.
My decision……. pic.twitter.com/UraxLnUJYy
— Chris Akporoghene Jr. ???? (@yomzking) July 9, 2018
Akporoghene holds offers from Auburn, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Oregon, and others. But he choose to commit to Tennessee after building a strong relationship with Jeremy Pruitt and his staff.
Right now, Akporoghene is rated as just the No. 772 overall player and No. 72 offensive tackle in the 2019 class. But his stock has steadily risen over the last year, and he’s performed very well this summer at various camps. He could see a rise in his rankings soon.
While he currently plays for IMG Academy in Florida, Akporoghene originally hails from Seymour, Tennessee and has plenty of local roots. He played for The Kings Academy in east Tennessee for his first three years of high school. He moved from Nigeria to pursue a career in football three years ago, though his family was not able to come with him.
His recruitment has heated up a lot in the past six months, and he even was one of the lineman MVPs at a recent Rivals camp.
At 6-foot-4, 290 pounds, he has the right size for an SEC lineman and could probably still put on more weight. Even with his size, he has really good body control. He fires off the ball hard and manages to drive opponents well. His footwork isn’t terrible, but it’s also not great. It’s definitely one of the areas he needs to improve the most. But he is a steady pass blocker, and his strength is blocking in the run game. His biggest problem is his pad level. He consistently plays football way too high up, which gives the defenders an advantage in the battle for leverage. He is, however, a solid prospect with plenty more growing to do.
Akporoghene plans to graduate in December and be an early enrollee for Tennessee in January of 2019.
Tennessee’s previous staff originally offered Akporoghene while he was still playing for King’s Academy, but it wasn’t until Pruitt and his staff took over that the talented offensive tackle really began to consider the Vols.
Now he’s pledged his commitment to Tennessee, and he gives the Vols another option along the offensive line in the future.
The Vols now have three offensive linemen committed in their 2019 class and are looking to add a few more. Five-star offensive tackle Wanya Morris and four-star Jackson Lampley make up Tennessee’s are the Vols’ other offensive line commits aside from Akporoghene.
