Tennessee needs a few wide receivers in their 2020 recruiting class to help fill in the gaps from departing seniors after the 2019 season. The Vols have targeted several wideouts in this recruiting cycle already, and one of their top targets at the position was in Knoxville on Thursday. And he really enjoyed his visit.
Rakim Jarrett is a five-star wide receiver who plays for St. John’s College High School in the Washington D.C. area. He took his first visit to Knoxville on Thursday to take in Tennessee’s first day of spring practice. Apparently, his visit went exceptionally well, as he posted on Twitter on Friday that he loved his time at UT and is planning on coming back within the next month.
Love it down here… I’m coming back in 3 weeks !
— Rak (@RakimJarrett) March 8, 2019
Jarrett also posted pictures on his Twitter account of him decked out in Tennessee gear.
University Of Tennessee… pic.twitter.com/golzef2Nbv
— Rak (@RakimJarrett) March 8, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Jarrett is the No. 17 overall prospect and No. 2 wide receiver in the 2020 class. Only Julian Fleming out of Pennsylvania is rated higher at the receiver position on 247Sports. Alabama, Clemson, Georgia, Ohio State, LSU, Florida, Michigan, Penn State, and USC are among the over two dozen schools that have offered Jarrett.
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This week marked the first time Jarrett has been in Knoxville since Tennessee offered him back on May 5th of last year. He’s also unofficially visited Alabama, Penn State, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia all within the past year.
When looking at his film, it’s very easy to see why Jarrett is so highly rated. He has elite speed and athleticism, and he can make defenders who even take correct routes to try and chase him down look silly and slow because of his quickness. He has good hands and awareness, and he shows a good amount of toughness despite not being the biggest receiver. He’ll need to work on running crisper routes in the future, but the intangibles and talent are clearly there. You can’t teach speed and instincts, and he has both of those.
As a junior, Jarrett caught 36 passes for 782 yards and 11 touchdowns. He had a 21.8 yard per catch average in his junior season for St. John’s.
The Vols are pursuing several receivers in the 2020 cycle, and new wide receivers coach Tee Martin has opened up a lot of different avenues for Tennessee there. He’s the key recruiter for Jarrett, and the Vols will continue to make Jarrett a high priority in their 2020 class.
