Over 100 of the top prospects in the country participated this week in the Rivals Five Star Challenge in Atlanta. The main prospect of interest for Tennessee fans was Harrison Bailey, the four-star quarterback prospect who has been the face of the Vols’ 2020 class since December.
Bailey did not disappoint in his third year attending the event. The Marietta, Georgia product was named the top performing quarterback by Woody Womack of Rivals.com following the action.
This was the third year in a row that Bailey competed in the Five-Star Challenge and he saved his best performance for last. The ball flew off his hands during one-on-ones and Bailey took the reins during the 7-on-7 tournament, calling plays for his team and leading them all the way to the championship game. Bailey thrives in a 7-on-7 environment, but what impressed most was his confidence and swagger as he directed his team. Bailey was the clear alpha of the quarterback group.
Considering the elite talent that Bailey competed against, this is a fairly noteworthy accomplishment from the Tennessee commit. Bailey edged out 2021 five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff for the top spot on Tuesday.
Bailey kicked off Tennessee’s 2020 class in the winter, choosing Tennessee over Michigan. According to Rivals’ rankings, Bailey is the 43rd ranked prospect in the 2020 class. The 6-4, 220 pound passer is the 2nd ranked quarterback in the country.
Despite Bailey’s firm commitment, Tennessee is still going hard after Haynes King, another four-star quarterback in the 2020 class. King is expected to choose between Tennessee and Texas A&M soon, putting another domino in place for this year’s quarterback cycle.
Tennessee has two years of eligibility left for Jarrett Guarantano, who enters this season as a redshirt junior on his fourth offensive coordinator. In consecutive recruiting cycles, Jeremy Pruitt has signed a three-star quarterback to each class — JT Shrout and Brian Maurer. One of those guys will end up being the backup quarterback in 2019, but it will be interesting to see how that depth chart shakes out with the highly-touted Bailey coming in next season.