This weekend, the Vols are hosting their second “Orange Carpet” event of the summer – the first came on June 21st and resulted in a handful of commitments. With over 30 prospects scheduled to make an appearance on Rocky Top, this weekend will go down as one of the summer’s busiest. Tennessee expects current Vol commits, and frequent visitors, Jack Jones and Dylan Jackson to stop by. Both Jackson and Jones have made multiple trips to campus since their commitments. Commits Joc Bruce, Austin Smith and Quay Picou are also scheduled to make the trip to Knoxville. Smith and Picou committed during Tennessee’s first “Orange Carpet” event.
Last year, Tennessee’s commits made sure to visit campus as often as possible. That type of dedication spawned a special bond within the class and it looks like the 2015 class is well on its way to a similar result.
Perhaps the most significant visitor of the weekend is current Auburn commit Montavious Atkinson. We confirmed that he’s on his third trip to campus in approximately a month and, with Tommy Thigpen as his lead recruiter, he could be a real threat to flip to Tennessee. He’s definitely one to keep an eye on. We were also able to confirm that Darrell Taylor, a 4-star defensive end who many think is a lock to Virginia Tech, is on campus. Understandably, Taylor was one of the prospects the coaching staff focused on. Tennessee should get a bounce with Taylor after this weekend – we’ll keep you posted on him.
Tennessee leans Quarte Sapp, Drew Richmond, Emmanuel Olenga and Darrell Miller, several of whom are in our 2015 Mock Class, are planned attendees. Miller expects to announce his college plans before the season and, with another visit to Knoxville under his belt, could be close to pulling the string on his commitment. Sapp and Olenga are also players to watch in the coming weeks. UPDATE: Miller committed shortly after this was posted.
Amonte Caban, a linebacker from Smiths Station, Alabama, picked up an offer from the Vols in early June and is supposed to be making his first campus visit. The Vols are also expecting Venzell Boulware to visit. A former teammate of Evan and Elliott Berry, Boulware named a top-5 that included Tennessee in late June. Getting him on campus would do wonders for Tennessee’s standing with the 6-4, 290-pound offensive lineman.
Rasool Clemons is making his first trip to Knoxville. The Vols are battling LSU for Clemens but have a ton of momentum with the lanky defensive end prospect.
On the 2016 front, former Tennessee commit Emmit Gooden was planning to visit but didn’t make it in town. Janarius Robinson, one of the top defensive ends in the 2016 class, did make it to campus. The Vols also got a visit from 2016 QB Austin Kendall, one of the top pro-style QBs in the country.
We’ll have more on Tennessee’s big recruiting weekend Monday morning in a new weekly column, “The State of the Vols.”
