The last few days have been explosive in the sports world. College baseball was once again kicking last weekend as the season draws to a close, and both the NBA and NHL had a slate of Game 6s and Game 7s on tap from Friday to Sunday. However, even with all of that other action going on, there was still some Tennessee football recruiting news… as always.
Here’s a look at some of the most significant moves regarding Tennessee football in the last few days.
Going back to last Saturday, May 14, the No. 1 player in the state of Tennessee in the class of 2024, Kaleb Beasley, announced an upcoming visit to Knoxville. Beasley, a dynamic 5-foot-11, 174-pound cornerback from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, will be visiting Tennessee during the last weekend of May, starting on the 28th.
Beasley, a four-star cornerback, is currently ranked as a Top 100 overall player, the No. 11 cornerback in the class of 2024, and the No. 1 player from the Volunteer State according to 247 Sports. While he is still in the early stages of his recruitment, Beasley has already collected 26 scholarship offers, including a number of powerhouse programs. In addition to Tennessee, it looks as though Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss, and Penn State are just a few of the top names that have offered Beasley a scholarship.
One day later, on Sunday, Tennessee received some sort of news for three separate highly-touted recruits.
First up was three-star running back Parker Jenkins from Klein Forest High School in Houston, Texas, who included the Vols in his official Top 12 list. Jenkins’ 11 other schools include Northwestern, Arkansas, Oklahoma State, Boston College, Florida State, SMU, Ole Miss, Houston, Oregon, LSU, and Florida.
Jenkins is currently rated as the No. 25 running back in 247’s class of 2023 rankings and is also listed as the No. 61 player from the Lone Star State.
In late March, 247 Sports Director of Football Recruiting, Steve Wiltfong, officially locked in a prediction for Jenkins to land at LSU with new head coach Brian Kelly. In addition, On3 Sports’ Recruiting Prediction Machine also has LSU leading the way at 94.9 percent.
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A few hours after Jenkins’ announcement, Tennessee also made the cut for Rico Walker’s Top 11. Walker, a 6-foot-3, 234-pound edge rusher from Hickory, North Carolina, is a terrific player on the defensive line and someone that could significantly impact Tennessee.
Four-star Rico Walker’s Top 11 included Tennessee, Georgia, Cincinnati, Michigan State, Louisville, Auburn, North Carolina, Florida, Miami, Clemson, and Maryland.
Quite a few reports this spring have spoken about how involved Tennessee is with Walker and how high up he is on the Vols’ priority list. Tennessee was able to bring Walker in on Apr. 9 for the Vols’ Junior Day recruiting weekend, which also included prospects such as Nico Iamaleava and five-star receiver Carnell Tate.
According to On3 Sports’ predictions, there looks to potentially be a three-way race between North Carolina, Tennessee, and Clemson, in that order. The Tar Heels lead the predictions at 27.5 percent, followed by Tennessee at 18.2 percent and Clemson at 10.6 percent.
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Rounding out Sunday’s events was four-star linebacker Edwin Spillman, who is also a teammate of Kaleb Beasley’s at Lipscomb Academy. Spillman announced that he will be joining his Lipscomb Academy teammate for a visit to Knoxville at the end of this month on May. 28.
Just like Beasley, Spillman is also a highly-touted recruit in the class of 2024, meaning that there is still a long road to travel for his recruitment. But with the in-state player already seemingly interested in Tennessee, the Vols look to be in an effective spot.
247 Sports have Spillman listed behind Beasley as the second-rated player from the Volunteer State in the class of 2024, while also listing Spillman as the No. 10 linebacker in the class and the No. 102 overall player.
There’s no question that these two mid-state defensive teammates could be big fish in the pond for Tennessee football down the line.
According to On3 Sports’ Recruiting Prediction Machine, Ohio State currently leads the way for Spillman’s services at 46.7 percent with Tennessee in second at 27.7 percent.
The final bit of news that came out on Monday isn’t necessarily timely news, but it is something to keep in mind moving forward knowing that Tennessee always has its eyes down the road. On Monday night, class of 2025 linebacker Ezekiel “EJ” Marcelin announced that he had officially been extended a scholarship offer from the University of Tennessee.
Marcelin is listed as a 6-foot, 190-pound linebacker from Miami Central High School in Miami, Florida.
For an entire updated (and simpler) look at Tennessee’s spring recruiting events, check in weekly with Rocky Top Insider’s Tennessee Football Spring Recruiting Timeline, which can be found here.
