Getting prospects enrolled early in a recruiting class can pay huge dividends for the development of those players in their first year with a football program and beyond. And Tennessee got some huge news in that department on Wednesday.
According to Jesse Simonton of Volquest, five-star offensive tackle commit Wanya Morris will be eligible to enroll early with Tennessee this upcoming January. Morris originally wasn’t expected to be an early enrollee, but he’s done the necessary requirements to be able to graduate high school early and join the Vols in January.
Morris’ head coach at Grayson High School said Morris would be “helped immensely” by enrolling early at Tennessee.
5-star offensive tackle commit Wanya Morris told @Volquest_Rivals on Tuesday at he will now enroll early at Tennessee. His HS coach said Morris will be “helped immensely” by arriving in January.
This could be huge for Morris’ early development (see: Trey Smith in 2017).
— Jesse Simonton (@JesseReSimonton) November 14, 2018
The Vols’ top 2019 commit is currently listed at around 6-foot-5, 311 pounds and appears poised to be an instant impact type of player for UT next season. He’s listed as the No. 9 overall player and No. 1 offensive tackle in the 2019 class according to the 247Sports Comopsite rankings. He’s been committed to the Vols since May 1st of this year.
According to 247Sports, the Vols are in line to accept eight early enrollees from the 20 players currently committed to them in their 2019 class. Morris headlines the group, and the other two of Tennessee’s top three commits, four-star receiver Ramel Keyton and four-star safety Jaylen McCollough, are both also set to enroll early in January.
Four-star cornerback Tyus Fields, three-star quarterback Brian Maurer, three-star cornerback Warren Burrell, three-star JUCO defensive lineman Darel Middleton, and three-star offensive tackle Chris Akporoghene are all projected as early enrollees for the Vols right now.
Tennessee’s previous administration took advantage of getting a lot of early enrollees on campus in their huge 2014 class, and it had an immediate impact on the Vols’ roster that season. Of the Vols’ 32 signees in that class, 14 of them were early enrollees, and that included players like Jalen Hurd, Josh Malone, Emmanuel Moseley, Owen Williams, Ethan Wolf, and Coleman Thomas.
Those players helped Tennessee improve as the season went along, and they were a large reason why the Vols made a bowl game that year.
The early enrollees in Tennessee’s 2015 class also paid immediate dividends. Kyle Phillips, Alvin Kamara, Shy Tutle, and Jauan Jennings were among the early enrollees in that class.
As Simonton points out above, offensive lineman Trey Smith was an early enrollee in the 2017 class. He, like Morris, was a five-star coming out of high school and used that extra time to get ready for what would be an All-American freshman campaign. He started all 12 games for the Vols in 2017 and earned many accolades for his performance as a true freshman.
