Volunteer Country

Tennessee Continues To Leave Recruiting Footprint

The Tennessee Volunteers are on a roll in the recruiting world. Head coach Josh Heupel and his crew are wheeling and dealing, and national outlets recognize it.

Brady Penn

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The Tennessee Volunteers stock is rising and has continually risen over the past 12 months. Head coach Josh Heupel is selling a product and pitching a vision that is being received by recruits and current players alike. The Vols have been one of the most active programs in the recruiting game this Spring, and as spring practice marches forward, this continues for Heupel and his crew. 

March was no different for the Vols and may have been one of Heupel's most successful months recruiting since his arrival in Rocky Top. On3 released their March recruiting rankings and tabbed the Vols at third, behind Michigan, who just nabbed five-star quarterback Jadyn Davis, and USC, who just secured elite tight end prospect Duce Robinson. 

On3 spoke about the gradual climb for the Vols' recruiting success, referencing last season's top-15 recruiting class, which is currently being followed up with a top-10 class for 2023, as well as the No. 7 class right now for 2024. As the article mentioned, the program already had five recruits this cycle, but the biggest catch came early last week with the commitment of Calvary Day High School four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger. 

As On3 mentions, securing Merklinger allows them to frame him as the centerpiece of the recruiting class. This will help acquire pass catchers from the class and get a concrete core of guys, as the article says, mentioning specific recruits on the Vols' radar, such as Mike Matthews and Jaden Reddell. It has been a while since we have seen this level of buzz in Knoxville. 

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Brady Penn
BRADY PENN

Brady Penn is a writer who has spent multiple years covering sports for multiple publications. Starting with "The Clarion", Brevard College's school publication, where he won an award for Sportswriting from the North Carolina Collegiate Media Association. Brady continues his work with The Clarion, as well as writing for SI's Volunteer Country and writing Braves pieces for SportsTalkATL.com. Brady is a rising Senior at Brevard, where he plays Football and does Play-by-Play broadcasting for BC Baseball, Men's/Women's Basketball and Softball.

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