Tennessee in the top six for top 2022 receiver target

For years we’ve talked about Tennessee’s ability to keep the best prospects in the state coming to Knoxville. That’s something that Butch Jones didn’t do a good enough job of, and it’s something that Jeremy Pruitt is also struggling to do.

Tennessee inked just one player inside of the top ten players in the state rankings during the 2021 cycle, per 247Sports’ rankings. Frankly, that’s unacceptable. Jeremy Pruitt will apparently have at least one more cycle to fix that trend, though his seat really couldn’t be any hotter at this point.

One of Tennessee’s top in-state targets in the 2022 class will be Isaiah Horton, a four-star receiver prospect out of Murfreesboro. The 6-3, 190 pound receiver comes out of Oakland High School.

Horton released his early top six this week, filled with traditional SEC powers. Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and LSU make up his top choices, though he has several other high-profile offers.

Tennessee was one of Horton’s first offers back in 2018. Per the 247Sports Composite rankings, Horton is the 283rd ranked player in the country and the 10th ranked player in the state of Tennessee.

One interesting note here is that Horton started his high school career at Ensworth in Nashville, playing alongside of Tyler Baron and Key Lawrence.

Tennessee has a handful of young receivers, each who did not lose a season of eligibility in 2020. However, the Volunteers will lose Josh Palmer and Brandon Johnson, forcing those younger guys into action next season. Horton could be a part of that next wave coming in as a part of the 2022 class.

As a junior, Horton caught 34 passes for 643 yards and seven touchdowns.