With last week being Tennessee’s second and final off week of the 2019 season, UT’s coaches were able to go out and visit some recruits. Jeremy Pruitt, Brian Niedermeyer, and other Tennessee coaches were able to go visit prospects all across the country at the beginning of last week and during the weekend. Pruitt and his assistants were also able to watch film of senior highlights and highlights from junior college prospects from the 2019 season, and they evaluated that film and sent out some new offers.
Tennessee’s coaches offered several 2021, 2022, and 2023 prospects last week, but they also sent out a few offers to some 2020 recruits. Here, we take a look at some of Tennessee’s newest targets in the 2020 recruiting cycle.
The Vols sent out offers to two different JUCO running backs during the bye week. On Sunday, November 10th, the Vols sent out an offer to Rachaad White, a 6-foot-1, 197-pound back who plays for Mt. San Antonio College. White is currently committed to UCLA. The next day, UT offered Don Ragsdale, a 5-foot-10, 205-pound running back who plays for Hinds Community College. He’s currently committed to Southern Miss.
White holds offers from Tennessee, UCLA, and USC among a few other schools. He played for Center High School in Kansas City, Missouri before going the JUCO route. In 10 games this season for the Mounties, White has racked up 1,223 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns on 184 carries, giving him a 6.6 yard per carry average. He’s also caught 23 passes for 184 yards and two scores. He’s eclipsed the 200-yard rushing mark twice this season and has five other games of 100-plus yards rushing.
UCLA picked up White’s commitment back on October 13th of this year. He’s currently the No. 44 JUCO player and No. 4 JUCO running back on 247Sports.
As for Ragsdale, Tennessee was his first Power Five offer since he arrived at Hinds. He, just like White, committed on October 13th, pledging himself to Southern Miss.
Blessed to recieve an offer from the University Tennessee ? pic.twitter.com/4JuydXTb8c
— Donald Ragsdale (@Donald5Ragsdale) November 11, 2019
Ragsdale played for Pisgah High School in Sandhill, Mississippi and racked up a ton of yards there. As a senior, Ragsdale totaled 3,132 rushing yards and 34 touchdowns on just 257 carries, giving him a 12.2 yard per carry average according to MaxPreps. He did all that a year after amassing 3,081 rushing yards and 38 touchdowns on 311 carries. Ragsdale also played defense for Pisgah, totaling 295 tackles, 34 tackles for loss, 22 sacks, seven fumble recoveries, and three interceptions in his four years.
Counting his defensive touchdowns, special teams touchdowns, and a touchdown reception, Ragsdale totaled a whopping 99 touchdowns in four years of high school football.
At Hinds, Ragsdale has continued to gain a lot of yards on the ground, totaling 825 yards and 13 touchdowns on 154 carries in nine games, giving him a 5.4 yard per attempt average. He’s the No. 103 overall JUCO player and No. 7 JUCO running back per the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Tennessee’s other 2020 offer, Tommy Wright, is a class of 2020 high school prospect who picked up an offer from the Vols last week, getting an offer from UT on November 11th. Wright is currently committed to Appalachian State, pledging himself to the Mountaineers on August 14th of this year. Wright is a 6-foot, 175-pound athlete who plays for Southwest DeKalb in Decatur, Georgia. Wright plays on both offense and defense, but it looks like he’s being mostly targeted on defense and special teams.
Blessed to receive a offer from The University of Tennessee? @SWDBALLCOACH pic.twitter.com/Hv93ZNH0Fy
— T6? (@T0mmywr1ght12) November 11, 2019
The speedy athlete was timed running an 11.24 second 100-meter back in June of this year, and he currently holds Southwest DeKalb’s school record in the long jump, measuring in at 23-feet-, 11-inches. Wright was voted the Athlete of the Year for 5-AAAAA by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Tuesday. The AJC voted him to the first-team defense as a defensive back, and he was awarded a second-team offense honor as a wide receiver.
Wright also holds offers from Memphis, Navy, and Army among other schools. The 247Sports rankings have him listed as the No. 743 overall prospect and No. 49 player in the state of Georgia. He’s currently Appalachian State’s highest-rated commit in their 2020 class, a class that includes linebacker Je’Mari Littlejohn — a player Tennessee targeted at one point — and quarterback Navy Shuler — the son of former Vol Heath Shuler.
Tennessee currently holds commitments from 18 prospects in their 2020 class. The Vols’ 2020 class currently sits at No. 20 in the country and No. 8 in the SEC per the 247Sports rankings.
