Tennessee had top five recruiting classes in 2014 and 2015. However, Tennessee wasn’t able to sign as many players the last two years since they signed huge classes in the two before. Also going against Tennessee was that there weren’t as many highly touted in-state prospects like the last two years. Given those circumstances though, Tennessee signed a very good recruiting class.
Tennessee Volunteers 2016 Recruiting Class
Tennessee’s class was ranked 14th, according to ESPN’s rankings. The true excitement really started for this class the night before signing day on Tuesday night when four-star defensive back Tyler Byrd flipped from Miami to Tennessee. Byrd would sign with Tennessee the next day. Then, to make matters worse for Canes fans, Latrell Williams also flipped from Miami to Tennessee and would sign with the Vols on signing day as well.
Another big target for the Vols was Nigel Warrior, who plans to continue the legacy of his father, Dale Carter. Warrior signed with Tennessee over conference foes Auburn, Alabama, Georgia and LSU. Then for the second straight year, Butch Jones out-battled Hugh Freeze and Ole Miss by getting Jonathan Kongbo. Kongbo was a top ranked junior college prospect and even though Ole Miss seemed to be a late favorite, he still signed with Tennessee. Last year on signing day, Jones was able to flip big time offensive tackle Drew Richmond from Ole Miss to Tennessee.
Tennessee won four major recruiting battles and, given the circumstances, signed a very good class of 21 players. Let’s not forget about elite defensive back Marquille Osborne who had already enrolled at UT in January. When you add him along with the big targets of Warrior and Byrd, that’s a very dangerous group of defenders. Then on the offensive side of the ball, you have quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, who was the nation’s top ranked dual-threat quarterback. This class may not be a top five class like the last two years but there’s some very dangerous weapons that could lead to a very exciting future for Tennessee fans.
