The Vols have had quite the run of good news in recruiting over the last two weeks, and it appears they may not be done any time soon.
One of Tennessee’s top tight end targets is set to announce his commitment soon, and the Vols are trending to land him. Now, another one of UT’s top remaining targets has released his list of finalists, and he’ll be announcing his college commitment within the next week as well.
Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, a huge defensive lineman who plays for Gaffney High School in Gaffney, South Carolina, tweeted out a graphic with his top six schools late Monday night, and the Vols made the cut along with Georgia, Penn State, Florida State, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Ingram-Dawkins mentioned earlier on Monday night that he will be making his commitment public at 3:00 PM Eastern on Sunday, May 17th.
UPDATE 5-12-20: Ingram-Dawkins has announced on Twitter that he will not be committing this Sunday. He has not offered a new commitment date.
Came so far from the bottom, I couldn’t even see the top !! ❤️ @SWiltfong247 pic.twitter.com/Rd5DJZYMos
— Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins ⁹⁰ (@TyrionI27) May 12, 2020
According to 247Sports, Ingram-Dawkins is a four-star and is the top prospect in the state of South Carolina in the 2021 class. He’s also the No. 17 defensive tackle and No. 300 overall recruit, and the 6-foot-6, 300-pound lineman has nearly two dozen scholarship offers from around the country. The huge defensive tackle recently received his fourth star on 247Sports, ascending to four-star status on April 15th. He’s a three-star in the composite, however, coming in at No. 403 overall.
Tennessee offered Ingram-Dawkins back on January 15th of this year, giving him his fifth overall offer and his second SEC offer. The in-state Gamecocks were the first SEC school to offer him.
The Vols have made Ingram-Dawkins a big priority, and UT’s coaches have kept in contact with him frequently. He also appears to be a big fan of Tennessee ace recruiter Brian Niedermeyer, and both defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley and defensive line coach Jimmy Brumbaugh have been active in his recruitment.
Ingram-Dawkins is big and athletic. He’s capable of playing inside as a true defensive tackle or come off the edge as a defensive end in a 3-4 scheme. He has a great initial burst and uses that quickness and his good upper body strength to blow by blockers.
As a junior last season, Ingram-Dawkins totaled 70 tackles, 17 tackles for loss, and eight sacks for Gaffney.
Tennessee’s 2021 class currently ranks No. 2 in the country and No. 1 in the SEC. The Vols have commitments from two defensive tackles in the class already. Four-star KaTron Evans out of Maryland and three-star Isaac Washington out of North Carolina are UT’s current defensive tackle commits.
