Tennessee hadn’t added a commitment to their 2020 recruiting class in football since mid-August. That changed late Tuesday night.
Four-star in-state linebacker Bryson Eason of Whitehaven High School in Memphis tweeted out his commitment to the Vols on Tuesday night. Eason and two of his teammates took official visits to Knoxville just a couple weeks ago when UT hosted Georgia on the football field.
I Am 100% Committed To The University of Tennessee At Knoxville ?! pic.twitter.com/pjMWEEOZC2
— Bryson Eason (@EasonBryson) October 23, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Eason is the No. 348 overall prospect, No. 17 inside linebacker, and No. 11 prospect in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 class. Eason also holds offers from Oklahoma, LSU, Georgia, Mississippi State, and Arkansas among others.
The 6-foot-2, 250-pound linebacker has taken a strong interest in the Vols over the last month-plus, and Tennessee’s coaching staff really turned up the heat on him once his senior season began. He and two of his teammates, four-star linebacker Martavius French and three star safety/linebacker Tamarion McDonald, all took official visits to see the Vols back on the weekend of October 4th. The last time Eason had visited UT prior to that was back in mid-June.
Eason and those same two teammates all took official visits to see Arkansas this past weekend. French had been committed to the Hogs prior to the visit, but he announced his decommitment from Arkansas not long after their trip finished up.
At the same time Eason announced his commitment on Twitter, McDonald tweeted out that he had decommitted from Mississippi State.
after a lot of thinking and talking to my mom…I am deciding to decommit from Mississippi State University! #GodGotMe
— TM3? (@tjdadonn) October 23, 2019
Eason moves well for his size and is a very aggressive defender. The huge linebacker 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. Eason has a lot of skills to build off of, and his athleticism for his size is very uncommon.
So far this senior season, Eason has totaled 42 tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack, and a forced fumble in five games according to MaxPreps. He suffered an injury last year and was limited in seven games, but his sophomore year numbers helped put him on the map. Eason amassed 111 tackles, eight tackles for loss, a sack, and an interception he returned for a touchdown in his second year of high school.
With Eason’s commitment, the Vols now have six players from the state of Tennessee committed to them in their 2020 class. Eason joins four-star safety Keshawn Lawrence, four-star center Cooper Mays, three-star running back Tee Hodge, three-star athlete Darion Williamson, and long snapper Will Albright as in-state players committed to UT. Eason is the 15th prospect to commit to the Vols in the 2020 cycle.
