Vols make final five for one of the top recruits of the 2024 class
Tennessee's 2024 recruiting class has been gaining plenty of momentum lately, and that trend continued on Tuesday. One of the top running backs in the country listed his top five schools, and Tennessee made the cut. 2024 RB Jerrick Gibson is the #1 ranked running back by both 247 Sports and ESPN recruiting, while On3 […]
Tennessee's 2024 recruiting class has been gaining plenty of momentum lately, and that trend continued on Tuesday. One of the top running backs in the country listed his top five schools, and Tennessee made the cut.
2024 RB Jerrick Gibson is the #1 ranked running back by both 247 Sports and ESPN recruiting, while On3 has him #2 and Rivals at #4. He's spent his last two seasons at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL, although he hails from Gainesville, FL. He's called Florida his dream school and even previously committed there.
However, his recruitment is now very much open, and the Tennessee Volunteers are still in it.
“Tennessee is a great place," Gibson told On3 Sports. "I’ve been really impressed with their offense and coaching staff. They’ve got a lot of talent, and the fans and community are amazing.”
Despite being a Florida fan and having interest in Tennessee, most of the recruiting pundits see Gibson as a Texas lean at this point.
Whoever ends up with Gibson will be getting a dynamic back with top-notch quickness and speed. On3 Sports had the following assessment of Gibson:
"Highly explosive, twitched up running back prospect. Physically developed and advanced heading into his junior season. Checked in at 5-foot-10.5, 190 pounds with a rocked up build. One of the more explosive 2024 prospects in the combine setting, registering an electronically-timed 4.57 second 40 yard dash, 40.3 inch vertical and 10 foot broad jump. Moves at a different speed than many of his fellow top running backs. Carries that burst and twitch over to the field. Shows the play speed to rip off chunk runs. Also catches the ball fairly well, but can continue to improve in that area. Moderately productive as a sophomore while playing for a team with a losing record. Transferred to IMG Academy prior to his junior season. Older for the cycle, turning 17 years old during his sophomore season."
Tennessee's offense should be attractive to a player like Gibson. The Vols are a team that plays fast and runs the ball at a good clip more than they throw it (averaged 40.2 rushes to 32.5 passing attempts per game in 2022).
In any event, Tennessee is back to winning big games against their rivals and, not coincidentally, they're catching the attention of top national recruits again.
Stealing a Gator fan from their own backyard would only make it a little bit sweeter.
