The Vols have a big need for wide receivers in their 2020 recruiting class. Tennessee is in on several wideouts in this cycle, and one of their longtime targets has included the Vols in his trimmed down list of top teams.
Kris Abrams-Draine is a four-star wide receiver from Spanish Fort in Alabama. He plays for Spanish Fort High School, and he’s been on UT’s radar for a while. A month ago, he released a list of his top seven schools. Now, he’s cut down that list to five schools, and Tennessee made the cut. They’re joined by Oregon, Florida State, West Virginia, and Ole Miss. Both Florida and Georgia Tech were removed from his previous top seven. He also adds that he’ll be making official visits to all five schools on his list.
F I N A L F I V E…????? pic.twitter.com/vEGzU8AXkm
— Kris Abrams-Draine? (@KD1ERA) June 6, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Abrams-Draine is the No. 341 overall prospect and No. 62 wide receiver in the 2020 class. The regular 247Sports rankings are higher on him, rating his as the No. 237 player and No. 47 receiver in this class.
Abrams-Draine was committed to LSU at one point, but that’s since changed. He committed to the Tigers back in March of 2018 and stayed in their class for over a year. LSU offered him on March 1st, he visited March 3rd, and he committed to them March 7th. Then, he decommitted from them a year later on April 4th.
The 6-foot, 170-pound receiver unofficially visited Tennessee back in April of last year, and he’s visited the Vols twice in 2019. Abrams-Draine was on campus for a Junior Day event on March 2nd and visited for the Orange & White Game on April 13th.
Abrams-Draine took an unofficial visit to Ole Miss earlier this month, and he has an official visit to West Virginia scheduled for June 14th.
You can’t teach speed, and Abrams-Draine certainly has that. He uses that exceptional speed to separate from defenders and make some explosive plays for Spanish Fort. He’s also good at timing his jumps precisely and bringing in difficult catches. He has very strong hands and plays bigger than what he is. He still needs to polish his route running, but he’s far from unskilled there.
As a junior, Abrams-Draine played a variety of roles for Spanish Fort and ended up with nearly 1,000 total yards of offense and scored 14 total touchdowns. As a receiver, he caught 44 passes for 584 yards and 11 scores.
With Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, Brandon Johnson, and Tyler Byrd all set to graduate after the 2019 season, the Vols will need to add several receivers in the 2020 class to bolster their depth.
Right now, Tennessee has one wide receiver committed to them in their 2020 recruiting class. Three-star athlete Jimmy Calloway is listed as an athlete, but he’s projected as a likely wide receiver in college.
Our Take:
Tennessee has been in on Abrams-Draine for a while, and they were viewed as a big reason he decommitted from LSU. Since then, a couple other teams have emerged in the picture and are giving the Vols a lot of competition. With as many targets as UT has at wide receiver, it’s difficult to figure out where Abrams-Draine is on the list. It’s believed he’s a priority as long as he has good grades and everything, though.
