The Vols are looking to close out their 2019 class in a big way, and they got some good news on Monday afternoon from an athletic linebacker in this cycle.
Jamie Pettway is an outside linebacker who plays for Westover High School in Albany, Georgia. The Vols have been in contact with him for months, and he’s shown a lot of interest in Tennessee. On Monday, he tweeted out his final four schools in his recruitment and said he will be making his announcement on the first day of the early signing period.
I will be signing on December 19th in Westover High School gym @2pm!!! #Top4 #Cards #GBO #GoTigers #Swarm pic.twitter.com/rqN072632p
— Jamie? (@JamiePettway42) December 10, 2018
Pettway is a 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker who recently saw a big jump in his recruiting rankings. When the Vols offered him back in February, he was outside the top-600 overall prospects on 247Sports. But he performed exceptionally well at camps over the summer, and he followed that up with a very good senior season for Westover. He won Defensive Player of the Year for his district in 4A.
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All that hard work has paid off for Pettway, as he picked up his fourth star from 247Sports and is now the No. 266 overall player in their rankings. He’s still a three-star in the composite rankings, but there’s a good chance he ends up getting a bump there before the final rankings come out.
Pettway visited Tennessee back in April and attended a camp over the summer in June. He’s continued to show a lot of interest in the Vols, and with UT likely missing out on some of the bigger names at linebacker in this 2019 cycle, they could luck into getting Pettway — who looks like a potential steal in this class.
The athletic linebacker has a great blend of strength and speed. He’s been timed running a 4.62-second 40-yard dash and has run a 4.47-second shuttle. He has a 31-inch vertical, can bench 255 pounds, can squat 420 pounds, and can power clean 235 pounds.
Pettway’s senior film shows off that unique mix of athleticism and power. He’s also very intelligent on the field and makes excellent reads in both the run game and pass coverage. A lot of Tennessee’s outside linebackers struggled in the pass game this past season, but Pettway already has solid instincts there. But he’s just as good at reading defenses on a run play and is a sure tackler too.
As a senior, Pettway totaled 76 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, and a forced fumble according to MaxPreps.
Tennessee currently only has one linebacker committed to them in their 2019 class, and that’s from four-star JUCO inside linebacker Lakia Henry. The Vols also have two defensive ends committed to them who could end up at outside linebacker in UT’s 3-4 system in Roman Harrison and Jalil Clemons.
