Last week, Tennessee extended a scholarship offer to a four-star linebacker/running back out of Georgia. Just a week after picking up that offer, he’s ready to come visit the Vols.
Desmond Tisdol is a four-star inside linebacker/running back who plays for Wilcox County in Rochelle, Georgia. He added an offer from the Vols on October 22nd, and he tweeted out this week that he plans on taking a visit to UT’s campus this upcoming weekend when Tennessee hosts UAB for homecoming.
Tennessee this Weekend??? pic.twitter.com/wGhEw11o5s
— Desmond Tisdol⭐️ (@Des_Tisdol) October 28, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Tisdol is the No. 227 overall prospect in the 2020 class, No. 11 inside linebacker, and No. 23 prospect in the state of Georgia. The regular 247Sports rankings are higher on him, ranking him 131st overall and as the No. 8 inside linebacker in the 2020 cycle.
Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Ole Miss, and Kentucky have all extended offers to Tisdol as well. Tennessee may be the newest team to offer him, but it appears there’s interest already there.
Back on August 20th, Tisdol released a list of his top teams and seemed close to making a decision. Auburn, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia Tech, Nebraska, Troy, and Georgia Southern were all part of Tisdol’s top teams.
Now, however, Tisdol seems to be letting things play out.
The versatile and athletic linebacker not only excels on the football field, but he stands out as a baseball and basketball player, too. As a junior last season, Tisdol hit .340 from the plate in baseball and averaged around 18 points a game on the court in basketball.
On the football field, Tisdol plays both as a linebacker and a running back for Wilcox County, and he performs well as both.
As a running back, Tisdol is slippery, has a good burst, and possesses really good footwork. He’s tough enough to break tackles and lower his shoulder, but he’s shifty enough to evade defenders and escape a tackle when it looks like he should be brought down. Defensively, Tisdol has good pursuit and can make some violent tackles. He tends to be in the right place at the right time, and he’s disruptive both on defense and special teams. He uses that same good footwork on offense to balance himself and make plays on defense, too. Tisdol plays both inside and comes off the edge as a linebacker.
So far during his senior season, Tisdol has 32.5 tackles, five tackles for loss, two interceptions, and a couple blocked kicks on defense. On offense, he’s carried the ball 56 times for 483 yards and seven touchdowns.
Whether the Vols are looking at Tisdol as a linebacker or running back remains to be seen, but the four-star athlete clearly has talent and makes big plays on both sides of the ball. Tennessee needs some more prospects at both positions, so either makes sense.
Right now, Tennessee has commitments from two linebackers and one running back in their 2020 class. Four-star teammates Bryson Eason and Martavius French are the two linebackers, and three-star Tee Hodge is the running back. All three are in-state prospects for the Vols.
