Tennessee Vols labeled as a program 'poised to take a leap' in recruiting
The Tennessee Vols were named this week by 247Sports as a college football program that's "poised to take a leap" in recruiting. That should go without saying considering that Tennessee just landed a commitment from the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation in five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava. But it's still nice for Vol fans […]
The Tennessee Vols were named this week by 247Sports as a college football program that's "poised to take a leap" in recruiting.
That should go without saying considering that Tennessee just landed a commitment from the No. 7 overall recruit in the nation in five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
But it's still nice for Vol fans to hear something positive from the national media for a change.
From 247Sports:
Tennessee made plenty of noise when it landed a commitment from five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava of Long Beach (Calif.) Poly last week. It's the kind of jolt to a recruiting class the Vols could use to push for a top-10 class and try to close some of the gap with Georgia. The defending national champion Bulldogs bring in perennial top-five classes, but the Vols could push for a top 10 class which hasn't happened in a while. Tennessee sits 10th nationally but the best could still be on the way.
Landing Iamaleava will certainly have a positive impact on recruiting for the Vols. Tennessee will undoubtedly be in the mix for several players they otherwise wouldn't have had a shot at landing.
But the presence of Iamaleava isn't the only reason the Vols are expected to make a big jump on the recruiting trail. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and his staff have done a tremendous job on the recruiting trail. Those guys are the real reason that Iamaleava is committed to UT (say what you will about NIL deals, but a player typically isn't going to commit to a program just because of a NIL deal).
The Vols currently have five players committed to their 2023 recruiting class, which is ranked No. 10 in the nation (No. 3 in the SEC). If Tennessee continues at this pace, they should have an outside shot at landing a top-five class.
And if Heupel can string together a couple of top-five classes, an SEC East division title could be on the way for the Volunteers.
Featured image via Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
