Tennessee hasn’t had a great deal of luck going head-to-head with Georgia in football both on the field and on the recruiting trail recently, but that hasn’t stopped UT’s coaching staff from doing all they can to fight back against the Bulldogs.
The Vols have lost two consecutive contests to Georgia on the field, and neither game was particularly close. In recruiting, the Bulldogs have won more battles than they’ve lost against the Vols, though UT is starting to win a couple key fights here and there.
Though the odds seem stacked against Tennessee, their coaches are pushing to try and flip one of Georgia’s current commits.
Nazir Stackhouse is a four-star defensive tackle who plays for Columbia High School in Decatur, Georgia. He’s committed to the Bulldogs, but he tweeted out on Sunday that he will be taking all five of his official visits in the fall, and Tennessee will be getting one of them. Georgia will obviously get one, as will Alabama, Auburn, and Georgia Tech.
— Nazir Stackhouse (@TheStackHouse_) August 25, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Stackhouse is the No. 277 overall prospect, the No. 24 defensive tackle, and the No. 26 prospect in the state of Georgia in the 2020 cycle. He’s been committed to Georgia since December 2nd of 2017, but that hasn’t stopped him from taking visits elsewhere.
The 6-foot-3, 305-pound lineman unofficially visited Auburn back in March and Georgia Tech in April. He also took an unofficial visit to see the Vols in mid-May of this year.
Stackhouse was one of the first offers Jeremy Pruitt made after he was hired on as Tennessee’s head coach. Pruitt offered the talented defensive lineman on December 9, 2017. That was just a week after he committed to the Bulldogs and was before teams like Alabama, Florida, LSU, and Texas A&M offered him.
The four-star defensive tackle participated in Nike’s The Opening Finals after impressing at a regional camp in March. He ran a 5.38-second 40-yard dash and showed off a 4.74-second shuttle run while measuring a 27.3-inch vertical leap.
Stackhouse hasn’t specified the dates for his official visits yet.
The Vols currently have one defensive tackle committed to them in their 2020 class, and that’s from four-star Dominic Bailey, who plays for St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, Maryland.
Our Take:
Flipping Stackhouse from Georgia seems near impossible. Stackhouse himself once said that the only way he sees himself decommitting from UGA would be if Kirby Smart leaves, which doesn’t seem likely at all. Even if Georgia were to push him out, Alabama and Auburn are currently running second and third for him, respectively. It’s clear that he at least likes Tennessee, but he seems pretty solidly committed to Georgia. Even if something changes, the Vols have some ground to make up behind other teams.
Still, getting him on campus again is only a good thing, and anything can happen on visits.
