Recruiting is back in full swing as the dead period is over and signing day is rapidly approaching. Tennessee hosted a bevy of recruits this past weekend as they try and finish strong in the 2018 cycle while also preparing themselves for classes to come.
Sunday night, the Vols offered a 2018 defensive back who is one of the better players in the class. Taiyon Palmer, from Lawrenceville, Georgia, tweeted about the offer Sunday evening. He played his senior season at Archer High School.
https://twitter.com/__TLP3/status/952707303857360896
Palmer is a composite four-star and the 28th-ranked corner in the nation per 247Sports. He had long been committed to Duke, but he reopened his recruitment on November 30th when he decommitted. Since then, his recruitment has taken off. He has received a plethora of offers from some notable programs in college football late in the recruiting cycle. Clemson offered him January 11th, and Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Arkansas have all offered him since he decommitted as well. Tennessee is the most recent school to extend an offer to him.
Even with less than a month left, his recruitment is still wide open. He is planning on taking an official visit to NC State next weekend.
A look at his film shows that he’s a great athlete. He returned a punt for a touchdown on special teams, and his work as a corner is very impressive. Palmer has great ball skills, intercepting several passes. He doesn’t play a lot of press coverage, something he will be expected to do in Pruitt’s defense, but he still does a great job in man coverage. He has a high football IQ and is able to read the offense well, consistently jumping routes. He is fast enough to run with most receivers, and strong enough to tackle well. At 6-foot, 178 pounds, he will need to add a little more weight to his frame too.
Corner is a position of immediate need for Tennessee. They are already recruiting several in the 2018 class. It’s worth noting that Tennessee offered Palmer after four-star Olijah Griffin visited USC and received six crystal ball predictions to the Trojans. Griffin was somebody the Vols felt confident they could land. Three-star Eddie Smith visited this past weekend and has since named Tennessee as his new leader.
Regardless of what happens with their top targets, the Vols need to sign several players at the position. Palmer would be a great addition to the class.
