Offensive Line
Amarius Mims — No. 6 overall, No. 2 OT
Geno VanDeMark — No. 316 overall, No. 18 OG
Rod Orr — No. 377 overall, NO. 28 OT
William Parker — No. 404 overall, No. 31 OT
Diego Pounds — No. 426 overall, No. 36 OT
The offensive line is one of the positions that will be hurt the most by the lack of camps this summer due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Summer camps are a big way for offensive linemen flying under the radar to get noticed, and that’s been especially true for the way UT’s coaches have recruited the unit.
With the exceptions of Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright, just about every other lineman the Vols have ended up landing in the Jeremy Pruitt era has been because Tennessee’s coaches were impressed by them at camps. Javontez Spraggins, James Robinson, and Melvin McBride are all examples of this.
Even with the lack of a summer camp schedule this year, it’s likely some more linemen will emerge as the high school football season goes on. But for now, Tennessee has a few targets along the O-line they’re still pushing for.
Amarius Mims is the obvious name, and he’s one of the Vols’ top overall targets regardless of position. Beating out Alabama and Georgia for the five-star prospect will not be easy, but Tennessee will give it all they have to try and do so.
Outside of Mims, the Vols still have a number of offensive linemen they’re capable of landing.
Don’t let the lower ratings of both Diego Pounds and William Parker fool you; both linemen have impressive offer lists and appear to be on the rise. Both linemen hold offers from Alabama, LSU, Florida, and Auburn, while Parker — who plays for Pearl-Cohn in Nashville — also boasts offers from Georgia, Ohio State, and Oklahoma.
Tennessee appears to be sitting in a good spot for both Pounds and Parker, and both are huge linemen measuring in at over 6-foot-5 and 300-plus pounds. Parker is leaning towards making a decision around September 1st of this year.
Four-star Geno VanDeMark seems like a tough pull from the New Jersey area, but the Vols did just make his list of top six teams earlier this week.
Rod Orr, an Alabama prospect, could be a name to keep an eye on moving forward, too. The Vols offered him back in April, and he’s only continued to blow up and get more attention on the recruiting trail. He’s a huge 6-foot-7, 295-pound tackle.
