Tennessee continued to address its biggest positional need on Wednesday by inking four-star offensive linemen prospect Jackson Lampley. Lampley, a 6’4″, 300 pound recruit, is from Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville. His father played offense line at Tennessee protecting Peyton Manning.
Tennessee Vols Ink Jackson Lampley
Lampley is currently Jeremy Pruitt’s highest ranked commit from the state of Tennessee. He’s ranked ninth in Tennessee and 247th nationally by industry composite 247Sports.com. Six of those top nine are from the Nashville-Murfreesboro midstate area.
This should concern Vols fans, as that area is now one of the top ten recruiting areas in America. LSU, Georgia, Oregon, South Carolina, Oklahoma, Clemson and Arkansas came into Tennessee’s backyard and plucked talent out of this area.
Coming Home
While Lampley waivered on Tennessee during last year’s disastrous coaching search, his patience paid off with his connection to head coach Jeremy Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend. Of course, his father’s connections didn’t hurt. Not only was his father a former player, but he was a graduate assistant and spent time on the University Board of Trustees. Lampley also played with current Tennessee starting running back Ty Chandler at M.B.A.
See Jackson Lampley’s HUDL Tape Here
Lampley looks to make his own impact, however. There’s ample opportunity for him to make his own name on the offensive line quickly. Lampley’s senior year tape has more pancakes than IHOP on a Saturday morning.
Immediate Impact
It’s no secret that the offensive line was the weak link for the Vols in 2018. While Lampley played left tackle for the Big Red, he’ll likely move to offensive guard when he gets to Knoxville. He has quickness and mobility that the guard position demands, while he doesn’t have the size or reach like Drew Richmond, Jerome Carvin, or Trey Smith at this point in his career.
Welcome to Rocky Top, @JMLampley75 ?#T19 // #PoweredByTheT pic.twitter.com/5ao87pDJ8t
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 19, 2018
Make no mistake, he’s not a small fellow. At his current size, he could step in and compete for a starting guard spot. Unlike many of the other early signees, Lampley isn’t expected on campus until the summer. Even without the spring practice and off season conditioning, he will assuredly be in the mix on the offensive line when fall practice starts in August.
And that’s key for Tennessee. Any improvement for the Vols offense will start up front, where the Vols were manhandled for most of 2018. The Vols must be bigger, stronger, and smarter on the offensive line, or else 2019 will look a lot like 2018.
