Tennessee’s 2017 class off to a fast start
- Wyeth Wilson
- Aug 27, 2015
- 2 min read
Though Tennessee’s 2017 recruiting class may only have three commitments, it already has a chance to be one of the best in recent memory.
Within a span of 24 hours this week, Tennessee landed a pair of five-star recruits.
On Sunday, the number one overall quarterback for the 2017 class, Hunter Johnson pledged to the Vols, and just one day later, standout wide receiver Tee Higgins of Oak Ridge gave Tennessee their second commitment.
Johnson and Higgins join three-star defensive end Jordon Riley as Tennessee’s present 2017 recruiting class.
Johnson’s commitment, while still huge, was not a big surprise.
Johnson had been considered a Tennessee lean for sometime, and when Butch Jones told the Knoxville Rotary Club to “stay tuned” for big recruiting news, most assumed he was referring to Johnson.
It may not have been the flashiest commitment, Johnson is certainly a player that Jones and Tennessee are looking forward to having in the future.
The 6’3, 197-pound pro-style quarterback from Brownsburg, Indiana chose Tennessee over more than 20 other scholarship offers, including nearby Notre Dame.
Johnson passed for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns last year as a sophomore, as while he labeled a pro-style quarterback, he was clocked recently at 4.7 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
Johnson will add to an already talented group of Tennessee quarterbacks that will be present in 2017, with current freshmen Quinten Dormady and Sheriron Jones, along with 2016 commit Jarrett Guarantano.
While Johnson commitment was somewhat expected, Higgins caught Tennessee fans by surprise when he announced on Twitter on Monday night that he play for the Vols.
Higgins is a rare case in that he was offered by both Butch Jones to play football at Tennessee, and by Rick Barnes to play basketball for the Vols.
The No. 55 player in the country (24/7 Composite) is currently at 6’4, 185-pounds, and piled up 864 yards and 12 touchdowns as a sophomore at nearby Oak Ridge High School.
With Higgins’s commitment, Jones continues his dominance of in-state recruiting.
And in-state recruiting will continue to be a big part of the 2017 class.
The state of Tennessee has four players ranked in the top 55 players nationally for 2017, and there is noticeably more talent in the 2017 class.
In Jones’s hot streak of in-state recruiting keep on, the 2017 class could be something special.
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