Isaac Washington committed to Tennessee back on January 25th, but once the Vols made some coaching changes, the North Carolina defensive tackle decided to reopen his recruitment and explore other options.
But after visiting UT again this weekend and meeting with new defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh, Washington is back in the boat.
The Pilot Mountain, North Carolina defensive tackle tweeted out on Saturday evening that he has recommitted to the Vols in the 2021 class, putting a picture of not only himself in Tennessee gear, but also a picture with Brumbaugh as well.
blessed to say i am re-committed to UT @CoachBrumbaugh @DansleyAnsley @CoachJPruitt #backlikeineverleft #GBO pic.twitter.com/p5FJ5WUDnX
— isaac (@isaacw_74) March 8, 2020
The 6-foot-3, 268-pound defensive lineman who plays for East Surry High School is just a three-star, but his offer list shows that he has potential to shoot up recruiting rankings, and he might be better than the early evaluations might have suggested. Washington picked up his first offer from Auburn back in May of 2019 and has added offers from Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, and North Carolina among others since then. After decommitting from the Vols in February, he added an offer from Oklahoma not even a week later. Tennessee offered Washington back on July 30th after he took an unofficial visit to campus.
Right now, Washington is rated as the No. 662 overall prospect and No. 37 defensive tackle in the 2021 class per the 247Sports Composite rankings. Washington was last evaluated by 247Sports in June of 2019, and his ranking on the composite rating was last updated in September of last year.
Washington originally pledged himself to Tennessee on January 25th, but then he announced his decommitment from the Vols on February 19th, citing UT’s coaching changes on defense as the reason why. Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker left Tennessee to take a similar position at South Carolina, and that move made Washington step back and reevaluate things.
After meeting with new DL coach Jimmy Brumbaugh, Washington felt good enough to go ahead and make himself part of Tennessee’s 2021 class again, however.
On film, Washington shows off great burst and acceleration, and he’s a very athletic and versatile big man. He lines up at defensive tackle but plays quick like a defensive end at times, and he even plays as a pass rusher for East Surry sometimes. He’s already strong and has the ability to get good leverage on linemen.
As a junior for East Surry, Washington racked up 105 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, 14 sacks, 21 quarterback hurries, and a fumble recovery in 15 games according to MaxPreps. He was named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Northwest 1-A region and was voted to the All-Northwest team as a junior.
Tennessee has made Washington a priority for a while, and he’s important to the Vols not just because they need big bodies along the defensive line, but Washington also has a lot of relationships with several other UT targets in the state of North Carolina in the 2021 cycle as well.
Prospects like five-star defensive tackle Payton Page, four-star defensive end Jahvaree Ritzie, and four-star running back Kamarro Edmonds are all from the state of North Carolina in the 2021 class, and all of those prospects — and others — are high on Tennessee’s board this cycle.
Washington’s recommitment gives the Vols their second commit on the day and their seventh overall commitment in the 2021 class. Three-star Alabama safety Edwin White also committed to Tennessee on Saturday.
