Recruiting Weekly Recap (Mar. 15th-21st)
The week in recruiting for the state of Tennessee was a little weird as not a lot of offers went out to prospects but in-state recruits did take several visits, so it was an active week.
We recap the biggest takeaways and action from last week below!
Lead Story
Once again in this 2022 recruiting process, the Virginia Cavaliers came down to Tennessee and pulled in another in-state commitment and this time it came from Baylor School (LB) Trey McDonald Trey McDonald 6'4" | 210 lbs | LB Baylor | 2022 State TN . The 6’4 225 pound versatile linebacker committed to the Wahoos on Sunday over several high academic offers as well as strong interest from multiple Power Five programs. He also committed to Virginia at 100% capacity as McDonald is fully on board with the ACC program and does not plan to look elsewhere.
McDonald is a high upside prospect that has yet to reach his maximum potential and the Virginia coaching staff see’s that too. They love his versatility to play inside/out and provide a lot of different traits from stopping the run to rushing the passer. He is also a high academic kid, so he fits the culture up in Charlottesville for both the schooling and football.
He is also the second Chattanooga area prospect to commit to Virginia during this cycle. Just last month, Boyd Buchanan (TE) Karson Gay Karson Gay 6'6" | 225 lbs | TE Boyd Buchanan | 2022 State TN committed to the Wahoos and now McDonald joins him at Virginia as two big time potential based prospects with their best football days ahead of them.
Offer King of the Week
Brentwood (TN) TE Aaron Walton Aaron Walton 6'3" | 220 lbs | TE Brentwood | 2022 State TN – East Carolina, Army & Dartmouth
– It was another strong week for the Bruins tight end and current Samford baseball commit. Walton is a flexible and athletic pass catcher that can line up in a variety of roles and college football staffs have taken notice. Walton is seriously considering playing both football and baseball in college and while he may be currently committed to Samford, the interest from D1 football is becoming quite strong.
Underclassmen Spotlight
– We can easily talk about a few guys here, including Powell (TN) receiver Adarius Redmond Adarius Redmond 6'2" | 185 lbs | WR Powell | 2023 State TN who attained offers last week from Tennessee (re-offered by new staff) and Michigan State but the main guy to mention here is 2023 Alcoa (TN) offensive lineman Tyler Jeffries Tyler Jeffries 6'4" | 290 lbs | OL Alcoa | 2023 State TN .
The Tornadoes powerful and mobile lineman landed a new offer last week all the way from the West Coast, coming from the Oregon Ducks. This was Jeffries first offer from a Pac 12 school but even bigger, it shows how big time of a prospect the East Tennessee product is and how much Oregon is taking a deeper look into the Volunteer State.
Jeffries now holding the Ducks offer along with several others from the ACC and SEC, he will see a big spike with his offer list sooner than later and officially become a 2023 national recruit.
Etc. …..
– One of the top in-state running backs, Lipscomb Academy (TN) senior to be, Alex Broome Alex Broome 5'8" | 190 lbs | RB Lipscomb Academy | 2022 State TN picked up an offer last week from Vanderbilt and the Commodores offer might be one that carries weight going forward. Broome is a high academic guy that will be looking for a school that provides value both on and off the field. Prior to the Commodores offer, the Mustangs star back could have been leaning to Boston College and he still might be but now Vanderbilt could perk his interest even more than the Eagles from the ACC. We shall see but Broome is a big time back that can hit the home run or pound out those tough yards, so expect many more offers to come his way very soon.
– Last week was a busy week for Franklin (TN) offensive tackle Fisher Anderson Fisher Anderson 6'7" | 275 lbs | OL Franklin | 2022 State TN . The 4-star lineman hit the road with his family last week to check out multiple college campuses, more importantly offered schools that Anderson has high on his list. His three stops last week were all in the Atlantic Coast Conference as Anderson visited North Carolina, Virginia and Virginia Tech. These three programs appear to be three schools that the Middle Tennessee product has high interest in but I’m sure Anderson has others in mind as well.
He has yet to make a top list of schools but that could be coming soon, especially after taking these visits. Anderson is a potential-filled prospect that has a frame with tons of room for growth and he fits the mold of a college pass blocking left or right tackle.
– ‘23 FRA (TN) OT/G Joe Crocker Joe Crocker 6'6" | 310 lbs | OL FRA | 2023 State TN hit the road last week as well, touring the campus and facilities of Mississippi State University. The Panthers massive lineman (6’7 305) really enjoyed his time down in Starkville and wants to return for another visit in the near future. A spike of offers is coming in the near future for the England native and current Nashville big man.