Take Two: Can Tennessee flip five-star Paris Johnson, Jr.?
MORE TAKE TWO: Which way is elite 2020 RB MarShawn Lloyd leaning?
Take Two returns with a daily offering tackling an issue in the college football landscape. Rivals.com National Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney lays out the situation and then receives takes from Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell and an expert from the Rivals.com network.
THE STORYLINE
Tennessee finished 5-7 last season, its sixth losing season in the last nine, but the Volunteers finished with their highest-ranked recruiting class since 2015, closing with five-star offensive tackle Darnell Wright and four-star linebacker Henry To’oto’o.
Through some lean years on the field, Tennessee has always been able to recruit well, but the development under former coach Butch Jones held back the Volunteers. Jeremy Pruitt has continued to recruit at a high level and the jury is still out on his player development.
Top prospects remain interested. Five-star offensive tackle Paris Johnson, Jr., was on campus in recent days even though he remains committed to Ohio State, and he was joined by four-star Darrion Henry and four-star linebacker Jaheim Thomas. All three also visited Georgia. All three are top prospects from the state of Ohio.
Tennessee had the worst record in the SEC East last season, but the Volunteers continue to push forward and get top-end talent on campus.
Can Pruitt and his resourceful recruiting staff flip Johnson - and thus get a five-star offensive tackle for two-straight cycles - or is it more likely that the Cincinnati (Ohio) St. Xavier standout sticks with the Buckeyes or ends up at a more current national powerhouse?
FIRST TAKE: JESSE SIMONTON, VOLQUEST.COM
“The other two guys are new on the board a little bit, but Johnson is certainly the crown jewel. He’s been at Tennessee twice this spring. Tennessee has absolutely gotten their foot in the door at least. Johnson has a good relationship with Brian Niedermeyer and he’s Tennessee’s heavy hitter when going after some of the big guys whether it was To’oto’o or Quavaris Crouch or Wright a year ago.
“Johnson also spent a lot of time with Pruitt and Will Friend and then Chris Weinke, since Cincinnati is his area, so Tennessee is putting three or four staffers on him to make him feel like the priority he is, the No. 1 offensive tackle in the country.”
SECOND TAKE: MIKE FARRELL, RIVALS.COM
“Tennessee has a national brand. We saw under Jones that they were able to recruit well but they weren’t able to develop players. Over the years, dating back to Phil Fulmer, kids were always interested in Tennessee. They always recruited pretty well. The problem is you’re competing with a lot of other national brands in the same area and those schools have won a lot more than Tennessee.
“Pruitt has to win on the field. He can recruit like crazy, but if they don’t develop the players and win on the field, then it’s not going to matter. A national brand to me is Clemson, Alabama, Florida State, Auburn, Ohio State – programs that won a recent national championship.
"I think Johnson sticks with Ohio State. It could be a Jackson Carman situation where you just assume a kid from Ohio is going to go to Ohio State and you’re wrong, but I think Johnson’s commitment is going to stick.”
