Tennessee lost one of the highest-ranked members of its 2016 recruiting class on Tuesday evening, when junior college defensive end prospect Jonathan Kongbo III of Arizona Western announced his decommitment via Twitter.
https://twitter.com/King_Kongbo/status/684576305161977856
Kongbo III is considered one of the best junior college players in the 2016 class by every recruiting service, and 247Sports has him ranked as the No. 1 overall JUCO prospect in the 2016 class. Scout.com recently gave him his fifth star. Kongbo III was a visitor for Tennessee’s 53-28 win over Vanderbilt on November 28 and committed to the Vols a day later on Sunday, November 29.
Since that time he’s continued to show plenty of interest in other schools such as Alabama and Washington, a school close to his home in Surrey, British Columbia. Kongbo has over 20 offers, including ones from other college football powers such as Ohio State, Oregon and Florida State.
His departure from the class, coupled with the recent loss of defensive tackle D’Andre Christmas-Giles as well, leaves the Vols with just junior college signee Alexis Johnson on the defensive line in this class. It is a position, however, where the Vols have some talent and depth on the current roster. They are still in pursuit of elite, five-star defensive tackle Derrick Brown, among others in the 2016 class as well.
Tennessee currently has 16 commitments in a class that is expected to have approximately 20 signees. The class is currently ranked 24th nationally in the 247Sports Composite.
