One of the top players in the state of North Carolina is a big fan of the Vols, and he just included them in his list of top schools.
Mohamed Kaba is an elite, four-star outside linebacker out of Clinton, North Carolina. He tweeted out his list of the top five schools in his recruitment on Thursday, and Tennessee made the cut along with three in-state programs and another SEC school.
Top 5
UNC
NC State
South Carolina
Duke
Tennessee
All the schools I haven’t visited yet I still have interest— Mohamed Kaba (@mo_kaba3) February 28, 2019
In the most recent 247Sports rankings update, Kaba took a huge jump. He’s now a top-100 overall player in the regular 247Sports rankings, coming in at No. 74 overall, No. 4 at his position, and No. 2 in the state of North Carolina. He jumped up over 400 spots in the 247Sports Composite rankings, earning his fourth star there and rising all the way up to No. 251 overall.
The 6-foot-3, 210 linebacker recently visited the Vols, attending a Junior Day event at the beginning of February. He picked up an offer from Tennessee back on January 19th. Along with the teams in his top five, he also has offers from Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Florida, and Virginia Tech among others.
Kaba is a do-it-all athlete for Clinton High School. He played a lot of inside linebacker on defense, but he lined up outside as well and also took snaps on offense. He’s a powerful runner on both sides of the ball, and he closes well on running backs as a linebacker. He’s particularly effective at stopping the run, but he can drop back in coverage and play well there, too. He’s a solid athlete who looks like he could be one of the “four-for-four” linebackers Jeremy Pruitt wants to bring in for his 3-4 defense.
As a junior, Kaba totaled over 100 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and two sacks. He played primarily at defensive end as a freshman and sophomore, but he excelled in his first year as a linebacker last season. He won Player of the Year last season for his region.
Tennessee will be looking to add several linebackers in their 2020 class to try and bolster their numbers there and to ensure they have play-makers there for the future. Kaba will be one of the top names to keep an eye on for the Vols, though pulling him out of North Carolina will be very difficult.
