On Friday night, Tennessee lost a commitment from four-star defensive back Mordecai McDaniel when he flipped his commitment to the Florida Gators. On Saturday afternoon, Tennessee already had his replacement.
Doneiko Slaughter, a defensive back who plays for Roswell High School in Roswell, Georgia, announced via Twitter his commitment to the Vols on Saturday. Slaughter announced his commitment while on an official visit to UT’s campus.
C O M M I T T E D #GoVols ?⛰ pic.twitter.com/ctPpG7tJY1
— Doneiko Slaughter (@Neikoslaughter) December 14, 2019
Over on Rivals.com, Slaughter is a four-star defensive back, earning a 5.8 rating and coming in at No. 27 at the safety position in the 2020 class. Slaughter hasn’t been evaluated on 247Sports since late June, so their rankings are outdated and have him in the 1,400s. The composite rankings list him as the No. 669 overall prospect and No. 49 safety.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back committed to Arizona State back on June 28th, but he announced his decommitment from the Sun Devils on Friday, December 13th, the same day he was set to arrive in Knoxville for an official visit. Tennessee’s coaches offered Slaughter back on August 1st. He’s taken official visits to see Miami and Boise State already as well, and he holds offers from those two schools along with Mississippi State, Minnesota, UCF, and others.
Slaughter competed in a regional camp for Nike’s The Opening back in March, and he was timed running a 4.65-second 40-yard dash and a 4.4-second shuttle. He showed off a 33-inch vertical leap as well.
If ever there was someone to live up to their name based on highlight film, Slaughter surely does.
Slaughter is a heat-seeking missile at times, tackling violently and soundly all at the same time. Not only that, but he has great awareness and instincts. His highlights start off showing him intercepting three passes and taking all three back for touchdowns. He’s dangerous in pass coverage and is also plenty capable of stopping the run. Slaughter has good lateral movement and is quicker than what that 40-yard dash time would suggest. He doesn’t give up, giving great effort consistently.
In eight recorded games as a senior for Roswell on MaxPreps, Slaughter totaled 51 tackles, five tackles for loss, three sacks, three interceptions (that he returned for touchdowns), two forced fumbles, and a blocked kick. And he did all that despite missing time with an injury. As a junior last season, he had 64 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, eight sacks, and two interceptions.
With his commitment, the Vols now have 18 prospects committed to them in the 2020 cycle. Slaughter replaces the decommitment of Mordecai McDaniel and gives UT two projected defensive backs in their 2020 class along with the potential of a third in three-star Whitehaven defender Tamarion McDonald. Four-star safety Keshawn Lawrence is Tennessee’s other defensive back commit.
