Potential Flip Candidates for the Vols in the 2020 Class

A Foot in the Door

Thaiu Jones-Bell, WR (Alabama) — No. 81 overall, No. 16 WR

Blayne Toll, SDE (Arkansas) — No. 369 overall, No. 18 SDE

Jaylon Barden, WR (Pittsburgh) — No. 488 overall, No. 85 WR

Tommy Wright, ATH (Appalachian State) — No. 748 overall, No. 49 ATH 

Jevon Banks, SDE (Mississippi State) — No. 790 overall, No. 38 SDE

Don Ragsdale, JUCO RB (Southern Miss), No. 106 JUCO overall, No. 7 JUCO RB

There are several prospects in the middle category on this list. Some of these recruits are either more recent offers by UT’s coaches while others have had the Vols involved with them for a long time but have been committed elsewhere for a while.

Tennessee has been pushing for Alabama wide receiver commit Thaiu Jones-Bell for quite some time, and they’re not about to let up any time soon. Flipping away an Alabama commit — unless you’re Clemson, Ohio State, or another premier program — is never easy, and UT hasn’t had luck barking up that tree in the past. So the odds seem somewhat low for Tennessee here, but they’re trying very hard to pull it off. I considered putting Jones-Bell in the “long shot” group, but I don’t think it’s quite to that point just yet.

Given the unstable nature of the Arkansas football program, Tennessee has ramped up their pursuit of defensive end Blayne Toll. The Vols were heavily involved with Toll previously before he committed to the Razorbacks, and the firing of Chad Morris as head coach caused a number of prospects to decommit from Arkansas. Toll, who is the No. 1 prospect in the state of Arkansas, hasn’t done so yet, and there’s still a decent chance he sticks with his commitment depending on who the Razorbacks hire. But Tennessee is doing what they can to get him to visit Knoxville again.

Jevon Banks is another interesting name to keep an eye on. Mississippi State has had a disappointing season, and the Vols have continued to keep Banks as a possibility on their board.

The other three prospects mentioned here — Barden, Wright, and Ragsdale — are all recent offers by Tennessee’s coaches and will be worth monitoring. If the Vols get any of them to visit campus, then UT could be more in play for them. As of right now, though, those three might be closer to the “long shot” category rather than the “most probable” group. Only time will tell.