Tennessee makes the top five for five-star defensive tackle Payton Page

With just a few weeks left in the 2020 cycle, you’re going to start seeing a lot of noise about the 2021 class. Tennessee rebounded both on the field and off to end 2019, getting to 8-5 and making five additions during the first day of the early signing period.

Outside of a prospect or two, that class has been wrapped up. What about 2021? Well, top schools list season is starting to ramp up. We’ll spare you the top 15s or the top 20s and focus on the ones that are a little more narrow.

First up, five-star defensive tackle Payton Page. The 6-4, 315 pound prospect trimmed his early list to North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Clemson and LSU over the weekend.

Page is a top ten prospect in the 2021 class. The Greensboro, North Carolina native visited Tennessee over the summer after picking up a super early offer from the Volunteers in May of 2018.

Jeremy Pruitt has transformed the Tennessee defensive front into a big, long group. They were able to rotate several bodies in and out in the final games of the year without much falloff. Now, can he start sprinkling in some elite talent?

Page was credited with 26 tackles for loss and eight sacks as a sophomore in 2018.

On the field, Page fits in the middle of any SEC defense. He’s ready from a size and strength standpoint, simply overpowering everyone at the high school level. Page could likely grow into a classic space-eating nose tackle at the next level.