Tennessee adds kicker JT Carver as preferred walk-on

It didn’t take JT Carver long to figure out what he wanted to do after a preferred walk-on offer came from Tennessee last week. The Martin, Tennessee native has committed to the Volunteers just six days later.

Carver made things official tonight on Twitter.

The 5-11, 175 pound kicker held scholarship offers from Tennessee-Martin and Michigan. Carver is the 14th ranked kicker in the 2021 class, according to Kohl’s Kicking and Punting camps.

Here’s a quick scouting report from the Kohl’s website.

Carver recently attended Kohl’s National Scholarship Camp in July of 2020. He again has proven to be a very dependable field goal kicker. His field goal range is impressive. Carver’s kickoffs are solid, but he is a plug-and-play field goal kicker in college. We trust Carver on field goals about as much as anyone in the 2021 class. He is a natural ball striker who can help a college program immediately!

Brent Cimaglia is entering his final season in Knoxville, so there will be an opening for the kicking job next season. Carver would appear to now be the front-runner for the gig.

Carver went 5-8 on field goals as a junior, connecting from as far out as 49 yards. He was a perfect 57-57 on extra point attempts. He plans to graduate early and join the Vols as an early enrollee in January.