Comment from recruit shows big recruiting weapon the Tennessee Vols gained this season
The Tennessee Vols learned this week that they're one of the top schools for 2024 five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader. Trader, 6-foot-2/170 lbs from Hollywood, FL, revealed his top five schools to On3 and he included the Vols, along with Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, and Miami. The Florida native is ranked in 247Sports' composite rankings as the […]
The Tennessee Vols learned this week that they're one of the top schools for 2024 five-star wide receiver Joshisa Trader.
Trader, 6-foot-2/170 lbs from Hollywood, FL, revealed his top five schools to On3 and he included the Vols, along with Ohio State, Florida, Florida State, and Miami.
The Florida native is ranked in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 2 athlete in the nation and the No. 5 player in the state of Florida. He's also rated as the No. 11 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class.
One of the reasons Trader is considering Tennessee is because of a recruiting weapon the Vols gained this season.
Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was an afterthought for folks outside of the Vol fan base entering the 2022 season. Hyatt, however, ended up having a monster season, catching 67 passes for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns.
As a result of the big season, Hyatt went home at the end of the year with the Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation's best pass catcher.
A Tennessee player winning that prestigious award is something that stood out to Trader and a reason why the Vols are among his top five schools.
“Coach (Kelsey) Pope is really trying hard to recruit me and show me a lot of attention," said Trader to On3 while discussing his top schools. "That means something to me. With how he is recruiting me, the way Tennessee played this season, and the way they produced at receiver this season, that has them high on my list. Jalin Hyatt won the Fred Biletnikoff award this season and that caught my attention too.”
Tennessee received a lot of free PR thanks to Hyatt winning the Biletnikoff. That kind of media attention matters a lot when it comes to recruiting. It's clear from Trader's comments that recruits care about who wins those awards. And it impacts their recruiting decisions (that's part of the reason why it would've been big for Hendon Hooker to go to the Heisman ceremony).
The more national attention Vols players get, the better recruiting will go for UT.
Tennessee finished with a top 10 class during the 2023 recruiting cycle and that's great for the Vols. But I have a feeling that's only the start of the recruiting explosion in East Tennessee. The Vols will see the payoff in recruiting from their spectacular 2022 season in the 2024 recruiting class. That's when those wins over Alabama, Florida, and LSU will really show up in recruiting.
Featured image via Calvin Mattheis/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
