10. Chris Russell, LB
It was up in the air for a while whether or not in-state linebacker Chris Russell was going to sign during the early signing period. But as of this past week, Russell has decided not to sign early and will take some official visits in January before signing in February.
Tennessee offered Russell at the end of November, and they began to push much harder with the talented inside linebacker from Dyersburg as the early signing period approached. The Vols were hoping he would take a visit to campus this past weekend, but due to a family situation he was unable to make it in. Now, he’ll be extending his recruitment to February.
The Vols hoped they could get Russell to sign early and shut down his recruitment because he’s starting to get a lot of attention from other SEC programs after UT offered him. Auburn extended an offer to him on November 20th, and Tennessee followed six days later. The day Tennessee offered him, Russell decommitted from Memphis. Texas A&M has since offered him as well. He’s now scheduled to take an official visit to Arkansas on January 25th, and Tennessee is working on getting him to visit sometime next month as well.
Russell is currently the No. 1,414 overall player and No. 60 inside linebacker in the 2019 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings. But the 6-foot-2, 220-pound is due for a ratings boost in the next rankings update.
