Potential Flip Candidates for the Vols in the 2020 Class

Long Shots

Justin Rogers, DT (Kentucky) — No. 41 overall, No. 3 DT

Chris Morris, G (Texas A&M) — No. 98 overall, No. 3 G

Jackson Bratton, ILB (Alabama) — No. 175 overall, No. 9 ILB

Jabari Small, RB (Ole Miss) — No. 634 overall, No. 10 APB

Jimmy Holiday, ATH (TCU) — No. 780 overall, No. 51 ATH

Rachaad White, JUCO RB (UCLA) — No. 104 JUCO overall, No. 6 JUCO RB

Tennessee is pursuing several committed prospects who I would consider “long shots” of flipping as of right now. These recruits could become more viable options if UT gets them to visit or if some things change at their current schools in the coming months, but right now these look like the least likely options of the committed prospects Tennessee is going after.

Chris Morris and Justin Rogers are the two highest profile names on here, and I think the ship has more or less sailed on both. The Vols probably have a better chance with Rogers than Morris at this point, but neither one of their recruitments has made a lot of sense at various points. Morris needs to get back to Knoxville if the Vols are to have any chance of flipping him.

UT’s coaches continue to try with Alabama linebacker commit Jackson Bratton. I just don’t see that one happening, though. Pulling away an Alabama commit is hard enough, but trying to do so when the recruit lives in Alabama is even more difficult.

Jabari Small is an interesting one. Tennessee is trying very hard to get a second running back in this 2020 class, and there’s a thought that recruiting Small harder would help UT with his teammate, four-star lineman Omari Thomas. Ultimately, Tennessee may not have to convince Small to join their 2020 class in order to land Thomas, but it’ll be interesting to see how things transpire here. Small visited UT along with Thomas for the South Carolina game. I still think he’s a long shot, though, because I don’t know that there’s a great deal of mutual interest between Tennessee and Small. That could certainly change, especially if he comes on another visit.

Jimmy Holiday is an athlete Tennessee has been involved with for a while, but I don’t know that they’ll be able to get enough traction to flip him away from TCU. He took an official visit to campus at the end of October, but it feels like a tough pull to me.

Rachaad White is another recent offer, and he’s a very intriguing junior college running back. He, however, plays out west and is committed to UCLA. That just doesn’t feel like the recipe for a flip to me.