Four-Star Tennessee TE Commit Jonathan Echols Shuts Down Recruitment

2024 four-star tight end Jonathan Echols has been committed to the Tennessee Volunteers for almost a year and shut his recruitment down on Thursday.

2024 four-star tight end Jonathan Echols has been committed to the Tennessee Volunteers since July 4, 2022. The high-major talent committed to the Vols when Alex Golesh served as the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach, but after the 2022 season, Golesh left Tennessee and took the USF head coaching opening. Echols remained committed to Tennessee but evaluated his options elsewhere.

Naturally, USF became an option for Echols after he built a strong relationship with Golesh. The in-state Florida Gators also pushed and got Echols on campus, but Tennessee continued to court him actively. New Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln worked hard to build a relationship with Echols and keep him locked in with the Vols. Those efforts have come to fruition, as Echols took to social media on Thursday to shut down his recruitment. This comes after his weekend official visit, and Echols is the second Tennesee commit to shut down his recruitment, with the other being corner Kaleb Beasley. I evaluated Echols in January and think he fits Tennessee's offense well.

Jonathan Echols, 2024 TE

"Playing in competitive environments forces players to adapt. Echols played for IMG and high-level Georgia football, meaning he knows what it takes to win football games. The answer is physicality. He flashes maximum effort on his tape, finishing through the whistle and taking pride in putting the defender flat on his back to allow the running backs to find creases. When playing on the edge, Echols routinely gets into the chest of offensive linemen and is the first to initiate contact. He has the power and hand placement to win on either side of the ball, an encouraging sign this early. Echols plays offense, defense, and special teams. The coaching staff wherever he plays puts a lot of trust into his ability to process information and make the correct play, which he consistently does. He takes the correct pursuit lane on kickoff, stays around the ball defensively, and redirects to open space at tight end. There are so many avenues where Echols wins, but the bottom line is that he is winning. Some have an innate trait that enables them to find ways to impact games. If you fight long and hard enough, then you are bound to make some winning plays in a four-quarter game. Echols puts himself in a position for good things to happen, and they generally do."

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