It’s no secret that Tennessee needs all the help they can get in the trenches moving forward. The Vols made the offensive line and defensive line big areas of focus in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and they’re doing so again for the 2020 class. One of UT’s latest offers has gone out to one of the biggest players in the 2020 cycle.
Tyrell Lawrence is a two-way lineman who plays for Clarkson Football North up in Mississauga, Ontario in Canada. Tennessee became the first SEC school to offer Lawrence when they extended a scholarship offer to him this week.
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee ‼️ ? #GoVols @Vol_Football @730scouting pic.twitter.com/UzVZH9fUgx
— Tyrell Lawrence (@TyrellLawrence_) May 24, 2019
Lawrence measures in at a gargantuan 6-feet-7 and 370 pounds. He’s played both on the offensive line and defensive line in high school, and it remains to be seen which position he’ll play primarily at in the future.
Right now, Lawrence isn’t rated by 247Sports or Rivals, but he’s considered one of the top linemen in Canada by Canada Football Chat, the main source of recruiting info for Canadian football recruiting. Lawrence’s first American football offer came from Howard in 2018, then he got his first FBS offer from UMass. He’s taken visits to Ohio State, Florida, and Virginia Tech and is also garnering interest from Missouri.
The mammoth lineman hails from Milton, Ontario and started his football career at St. Michael’s College before transferring to Clarkson before his sophomore season. He’s played a full American schedule the last two seasons.
It’s clear from Lawrence’s highlight film that there aren’t many linemen in his area who can match up against him. His size and strength are too much for opponents to handle on both sides of the ball. Lawrence actually does a fairly good job of getting low despite his massive height advantage, and he moves very well for his size. He does a great job of kicking out to pick up blitzers when moving from the interior, and he’s a force when blocking for the run. On defense, Lawrence is a terror to block and uses his strength to his advantage. He plays through the whistle on just about every play, and he’s one of the more aggressive linemen I’ve seen in the 2020 cycle. He still has quite a bit to improve on from a technical standpoint, but he has a lot of intangibles that coaches covet.
Lawrence has played offensive tackle, offensive guard, and defensive tackle in high school. It might make more sense for him to play defensive tackle in college, but his aggression and handwork project well as a guard, too. Lawrence was named to the CFC All-Canadians First-Team Offense after the 2018 season.
The Vols will have plenty of opportunities to get Lawrence on campus so he can camp in front of UT’s coaches over the summer. Lawrence has already shown he’s willing to travel down to the south when he’s visited both Florida and Virginia Tech.
Tennessee doesn’t have any offensive lineman or a defensive tackle committed to them in their 2020 class yet. Lawrence will be a name to keep an eye on at those positions in the coming months.
