Tennessee will be looking for plenty of help in the pass rushing department in the 2020 class, and they’ve already offered several outside linebackers and defensive ends in the upcoming cycle. This past week, UT’s coaches sent out an offer to an intriguing pass rusher prospect who plays north of the border.
Kenny Mestidor is an outside linebacker/defensive end who plays for St. Thomas More up in Toronto, Ontario in Canada. This past week, he picked up an offer from Vols.
Blessed to receive an offer from The University of Tennessee #GoVols pic.twitter.com/6WrWStA4Qn
— kenny mestidor✈️ (@kennymestidor) January 10, 2019
The 6-foot-2, 220-pound athlete has offers from a dozen schools and already has offers from Florida, Michigan, Syracuse, and Rutgers among other programs. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings Mestidor is the No. 422 overall player and No. 34 outside linebacker in the 2020 class. According to Canada Football Chat, Mestidor is the No. 2 player in all of Canada in the 2020 class, trailing only four-star defensive tackle Lamar Goods.
If you’re looking for a somewhat under-the-radar recruit to keep an eye on in the 2020 class, then Mestidor may just be that player.
Mestidor’s film shows a relentless pursuer coming off the line who uses a variety of tactics to get to the backfield. He plays both as a linebacker and with his hand in the dirt as a down lineman, though he played more as a defensive end for St. Thomas More. Mestidor shows great burst and athletic ability and defends the run as well as he rushes the passer. He has good speed and doesn’t appear to tire easily. He frequently causes disruptions even if he doesn’t get the sack on passing plays.
Though he plays more as a defensive end in high school, he doesn’t quite have the frame or size to project well at that position in college, which is why he’s listed as an outside linebacker. That would be his ideal fit in a 3-4 defensive system like UT employs.
The Vols will try to add as many quality pass rushers as they can in their 2020 class, and Mestidor will be a name to keep an eye on. He’s camped at various schools so far, including Penn State and North Carolina. It will be interesting to see if Tennessee will get the talented Canadian prospect to come down and visit Knoxville sometime.
