Well, there wasn't much going on in the way of recruiting this week with the Vols on the road and losing to Florida, but we're just going to give you a quick refresher of things that are being rumored around the country as it pertains to UT recruiting.
Again, unless you want to count a bunch of high-profile recruits watching UT lose at The Swamp, not much here...
- The vibe around Andrew Jelks still seems to be very good, and most think that the Paris, Tenn., offensive tackle is going to be a Vol in a matter of time. Surely, if he watched the Florida game, he shouldn't be scared off by the "depth" of "talent" in Knoxville right now. I believe he'll take his visits and be a Vol when all is said and done. He's certainly UT's best chance at landing an offensive lineman, and I fully expect Tennessee to go out and scour the country for another offensive lineman as well.
- As for defensive tackle recruiting, the Vols have to weather a couple of storms to land its two big targets, but they seem to be doing OK on that right now. First off, four-star JUCO commitment Damien Jacobs is visiting Texas A&M this weekend, and he has given mixed signals as to what he may do. Some sites say UT is in danger of him flipping to the Aggies. But others contend that A&M would have to blow Jacobs out of the water for him to switch commitments. It's worth watching this weekend. Also, it appears the Vols have calmed things with Flint, Mich., DT Dan O'Brien who visited Michigan two consecutive weeks, including for the Wolverines' big win over Notre Dame. It's a UT/UM battle, and Rivals Midwest reporter Josh Hemhold tweeted today that Tennessee may hold an edge over Michigan right now. That's huge news for Vols fans who figured O'Brien had all but committed to the maize and blue.
Big news this week on the offer front as a couple of different sites reported Tennessee extended an offer to defensive end Francis Kallon of Central Gwinnett (Ga.) HS. Kallon is a Georgia Tech commitment who has never played football until this year. He moved from London, England, in 2010, and he is blowing up right now, registering seven sacks in three games. He seems solid to the Yellow Jackets right now, but his coach wants him to take multiple visits.
As of now, I'm unaware of any visitors for UT's home game against Buffalo.
The Vols probably didn't do a whole lot to impress Rivals 100 defensive end Leonard Williams, who was onhand in Gainesville for the 33-23 loss. The 6-foot-5, 254-pound DE said that the Gators and Vols both made his top four along with Auburn and Florida State. The Vols have impressed him in recent weeks and moved up the list.
One player the Vols have offered for next season is St. Benedict HS running back Jordan Wilkins. The Cordova, Tenn., native has 830 rushing yards through four games. He said Memphis, Ole Miss and MTSU also have extended verbal offers.
A 2013 safety from Richmond, Va., has the Vols in his top five, according to 247 Sports. Tim Harris, a 6-2, 173-pound safety, has UT up there with Clemson, Penn State, Oregon, Virginia and Va Tech.
Finally, 247 Georgia writer Rusty Mansell writes that the Vols are keeping tabs on another running back in this year's class. Allatoona HS (Acworth, Ga.) tailback Miles Jones has 671 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in four games, and the 5-9, 200-pound runner is garnering some attention. Georgia, GT, Maryland and Kentucky are all talking to Jones, and UK has offered.
UT's commitment MVPs this week go to LB Otha Peters, who had 16 tackles and two pass deflections for Covington in a win over Higgins, and Decatur (Ga.) WR Keithon Redding, who had two touchdowns, including housing a punt return.