Vols’ Top 2020 LB Commit Flips to LSU

UPDATE (10-27-19, 1:30 PM Eastern): As of Sunday afternoon, four-star outside linebacker/weakside defensive end BJ Ojulari has confirmed reports of his decommitment from the Vols and has flipped his commitment to LSU despite not making the trip down to Baton Rouge this weekend.

?? #GeauxTigers pic.twitter.com/DGwZJucRdM

— Bj Ojulari?? (@Bj_O9) October 27, 2019

Teams are supposed to gain commitments after getting a big victory over a conference rival. But that wasn’t the case for the Vols on Sunday morning, apparently.

According to a report from 247Sports, outside linebacker/weakside defensive end BJ Ojulari out of Marietta, Georgia has reopened his recruitment and has decommitted from the Vols’ 2020 class. The report doesn’t specify a reason why Ojulari has decided to move on from his commitment to UT, and Ojulari hasn’t posted anything on social media about the decision himself.

Not only is the timing strange because it came after a big Tennessee win, but it also comes after Ojulari didn’t actually end up making it down to Baton Rouge for his official visit to see LSU this Saturday. His flight to LSU was canceled, meaning Ojulari ended up staying home.

It’s worth noting that Ojulari’s teammate at Marietta High School, five-star tight end/wide receiver Arik Gilbert, just committed to LSU this past week. Of course, another one of Ojulari’s teammates, four-star quarterback Harrison Bailey, is committed to the Vols.

The four-star defender chose Tennessee over LSU, Georgia, and Auburn back on August 16th, and it seemed like he would stick with the Vols even after their brutal start to the 2019 season.

That didn’t happen, however.

With his decommitment, the Vols now have 16 players committed to them in their 2020 class. Tennessee picked up a trio of commitments from three defenders from Whitehaven High School in Memphis this past week when four-star linebacker Bryson Eason, four-star linebacker Martavius French, and three-star defensive back/linebacker Tamarion McDonald all pledged to Tennessee. Though all three can play linebacker, none of the Whitehaven players figured to play a similar position to Ojulari.

We will update as more information become available.