Linebackers are a big priority for Tennessee under Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 defensive scheme. The Vols made some big additions at linebacker in the 2019 recruiting cycle, and they’ll look to bring in a few stud linebackers in the 2020 class as well. One of UT’s targets at the position included Tennessee in his trimmed down list of top programs in his recruitment on Saturday.
Bryson Eason is a four-star linebacker who plays for Whitehaven over in Memphis. On Saturday afternoon, Eason released his list of the top eight schools in his recruitment. Tennessee made the cut along with LSU, Florida, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Oregon, and Memphis.
Blessed?? pic.twitter.com/UKEN7gS0gG
— Bryson Eason (@EasonBryson) June 1, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Eason is the No. 294 overall prospect, No. 9 inside linebacker, and No. 11 player in the state of Tennessee. Eason is also teammates with fellow four-star linebacker Martavius French at Whitehaven.
As a junior last season, Eason fought through a nagging ankle injury but still managed to produce well for Whitehaven. He’s also big for an inside linebacker at 6-foot-1, 238 pounds, and he could potentially move outside once in college. But he moves and plays well for an inside linebacker, too.
Eason visited Tennessee for a camp back in the summer of 2018, but he’s yet to make a return trip to Knoxville since then. David Johnson and Derrick Ansley are both key contributors in his recruitment to UT.
Even with his injury last season, Eason was a productive linebacker for Whitehaven. He moves well for his size and is a very aggressive defender. Eason wraps up exceptionally well on his tackles, and he possesses good vision both in passing situations and chasing down running backs. He has some good sideline-to-sideline movement, too. Eason is a violent hitter. His highlights don’t show a lot of his work in the passing game, so it remains to be seen what he can do in pass coverage. Overall, though, he’s a rugged defender with a mean streak.
In just seven recorded games last season, Eason recorded 49 tackles and three tackles for loss according to MaxPreps. In 14 full games as a sophomore, Eason totaled 111 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack, an interception he returned for a touchdown, and a fumble recovery.
The Vols don’t have any linebackers committed to them in their 2020 class as of now, and the only in-state prospect pledged to them in the class so far is long snapper Will Albright.
