RTI recruiting contributor Landon Steffy is the author of this article
While Tennessee’s remaining 2019 class gets set to arrive in the coming weeks, Tennessee’s coaching staff is busy evaluating talent as they set their eyes on filling the 2020 class. Jeremy Pruitt and his staff are set to host two massive junior college teammates from a familiar JUCO school.
Per their Twitter accounts, JUCO teammates Antwan Reed and Tairiq Stewart are taking visits to Knoxville on June 14th. The duo are both offensive linemen who play for ASA College in Brooklyn, New York. Both players tip the scales, too. Antwan Reed comes in at 6-foot-6 and 325 pounds while Tairiq Stewart measures in at 6-foot-5, 335 pounds.
Visiting Tennessee June 14th, can’t wait!! #GoVols #GBO pic.twitter.com/9I89pMXg6u
— DOL. A?? (@antwan_reed) May 28, 2019
Can’t wait to get down to Tennessee June 14th!! #PoweredByTheT #GoVols pic.twitter.com/vD4YGUy0db
— Tairiq Stewart (@BigRiqq) May 28, 2019
Tennessee has an interesting connection to ASA College. Joe Osovet, Tennessee’s Director of Programming for Football, used to be the head coach at ASA College, and he still has plenty of ties to his old school. Osovet has been a key recruiter for several of Tennessee’s JUCO prospects.
While both players are not ranked yet, both have gotten attention on the recruiting trail already, most notably Antwan Reed. Reed’s recruitment is really starting to pick up, as the one-time Western Michigan signee has already received offers from Florida State, Marshall, and UAB along with his offer from the Vols. As for Stewart, the Vols are the first FBS offer he’s received since enrolling in junior college.
Coming out of high school, Reed was the No. 425 overall prospect according to the 247Sports Composite rankings and held offers from Georgia, Florida, Michigan, and Penn State among others. Stewart was not ranked coming out of high school.
As of now, the only highlight film available for Reed is from his time in high school. But even from that, there’s plenty to see in his game. Reed’s massive size really helps him out when blocking, and he makes pancake blocks look easy. He seems to excel in run blocking and just plows through opposing defensive lines with ease. Reed possesses very good strength. Once he lays his hands on a player and locks on to the opposing defensive lineman, they don’t get away. He seems to have very good balance, too.
As for Stewart, he could project more as a guard than tackle at the next level. He easily hands out pancake blocks on the regular, often brutally taking his man to the ground. He often ragdolls his man to the ground and makes blocking look easy. One highlight stands out in particular. Stewart lines up at tackle on a run play, and when the ball is snapped he takes out the defensive end and the defensive tackle both, steamrolling both players simultaneously. You often hear the term “road grader” when it comes to offensive lineman in recruiting, and that fits Stewart perfectly. He plays with a mean streak. He may project better as a guard than tackle in college, but he definitely has the skills there to produce.
Tennessee does not have any offensive lineman committed for the 2020 class, and getting this intriguing duo on campus is an interesting development. The Vols are targeting several offensive linemen at the high school level, but it’s apparent that UT is looking for some more experienced players to come in for the 2020 season along the line as well.
