Vols Pick up Elite 2015 WR Commit

Despite a poor showing on the field this weekend, Butch Jones and the Tennessee Vols continue to get it done on the recruiting trail. 2015 wide receiver Preston WIlliams, from just south of Atlanta, chose to commit to the Vols yesterday.

While none of our staff have seen Williams play, it's clear from the recruiting rankings and offer list that he is an elite prospect at the receiver position. Scout and 247 both list him as a four-star, and he holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Clemson, Florida State, and others. When you get a player that four top fifteen programs are after, including several of the traditional recruiting heavyweights, you're doing well. As a junior in high school, he is listed at 6'5" and 200 pounds, and Scout pegs Williams as the #11 receiver prospect in the country.

This commitment does provide an encouraging answer to the question of how recruits will look at performances like the one yesterday. Of course, if the poor play continues all year, the worries that recruits may get cold feet will continue, but as of now, Butch Jones' sales pitch is still working. He's convincing the kids that the problem at Tennessee is just a lack of SEC-caliber players, and they can fix that problem. Anyone who looks into things can see the truth in that message--a key tackle late in Saturday's game was missed by a walk-on running back--but that doesn't always lead to recruits buying in, and as of now, they are.

Williams' commitment gives Tennessee six in the class of 2015, four three-star prospects and two four-stars. Tennessee has commitments from two in-state offensive tackles, an athlete, an inside linebacker, and now a receiver. Williams will join two four-star high school receivers from the 2014 class and the underclassmen already on campus in an effort to restore the Vols' customary strength at the position.