Last week, Tennessee’s highest-rated commit in their 2020 class shut down his recruitment. On Wednesday of this week, four-star Whitehaven linebacker Martavius French announced he, too, would be shutting down his recruitment and sticking with the Vols. Now, one of French’s teammates is also closing up shop.
Tamarion McDonald, a versatile three-star defender on the same Whitehaven team in Memphis as French, posted to his Twitter account on Friday morning that his recruitment is now shut down, too.
Recruit 100% shutdown!? #GBO
— TM3? (@tjdadonn) December 13, 2019
The 6-foot-1, 220-pound defender is one of three Whitehaven players committed to the Vols in the 2020 class. McDonald, French, and four-star linebacker Bryson Eason all pledged themselves to Tennessee within a couple hours of each other on the night of October 22nd.
McDonald was once committed to Mississippi State. The three-star linebacker committed to the Bulldogs on May 25th, but when Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt traveled over to Memphis to watch Whitehaven play on September 27th and officially offered McDonald, things changed.
On October 22nd, McDonald officially decommitted from Mississippi State. Just a few hours later, he announced his commitment to the Vols along with his two teammates.
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, McDonald is the No. 582 overall prospect, No. 40 outside linebacker, and No. 17 recruit in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 class. McDonald was part of a Whitehaven defense that shut out seven of the 12 opponents they faced this season. The Tigers only allowed 5.4 points per game on the year.
McDonald is listed as an outside linebacker prospect, but it’s thought that he will get a shot at playing some defensive back at Tennessee.
Last week, Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt, running backs coach and Memphis area recruiter David Johnson, and defensive coordinator Derrick Ansley all paid French, Eason, and McDonald in-home visits.
As of now, McDonald is slated to sign with Tennessee during the upcoming early signing period next week. This year’s early signing period begins on December 18th and runs through the 20th.
The Vols currently have 18 commits in their 2020 class, with 10 of them hailing from the state of Tennessee. McDonald is one of five recruits committed to the Vols who plays high school football over in Memphis.
