Tennessee picked up a commitment from a four-star prospect on Saturday afternoon, but they lost a commitment from another four-star recruit on late Sunday night.
Antonio Johnson, a four-star safety who plays for East St. Louis in Illinois, announced on Twitter late Sunday night that his recruitment is now “100% open.” He committed to Tennessee along with his teammate, three-star offensive lineman Javontez Spraggins, back on June 7th after attending a camp on UT’s campus.
My recruitment is now 100% open‼️
— 2️⃣ (@Antonio_johns0n) July 29, 2019
Johnson’s announcement comes after he took an unofficial visit to Texas A&M over the weekend. He posted on his Twitter that he had a “great visit” to see the Aggies. He also picked up an offer from Alabama on June 22nd after he attended a camp on their campus.
It’s unclear at this time what Johnson’s decommitment means for Spraggins and his status with the Vols.
Johnson is rated as the No. 149 overall player and No. 12 safety in the 2020 class according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Tennessee now has 12 players committed to them in their 2020 class, and three are projected defensive backs. Four-star in-state defensive back Keshawn Lawrence, four-star JUCO cornerback Art Green, and three-star cornerback Lovie Jenkins are UT’s secondary commit as of now.
On Saturday, the Vols added a commitment from four-star wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, filling a need for some elite speed in their receiver room. At the time, Hyatt gave Tennessee their 13th commitment and was their seventh commit rated as a four-star or higher in UT’s 2020 class.
The Vols still have a number of targets at safety in the 2020 class, and Johnson could eventually come back to Tennessee. But if he doesn’t, expect the Vols’ coaching staff to ramp up their pursuit of players like four-star Alabama commit Javier Morton, three-star Florida commit Rashad Torrence, four-star Joel Williams, four-star Eric Shaw, and three-star Mordecai McDaniel among others.
