After getting off to a slow start, Tennessee Vols coach Derek Dooley and his staff have made a lot of noise on the college football recruiting front over the past month.
The Volunteers had received a total of three commitments through July 17 but have since gotten verbals from 13 prep prospects, including four-star wide receivers Drae Bowles and Jason Croom, four-star linebacker Dalton Santos and four-star safety LaDarrell McNeil.
The additional commitments have sent the Vols surging upward in the latest college football recruiting rankings at Scout, Rivals and ESPN.
A few weeks ago none of the recruiting services had Tennessee anywhere near their top 25 classes, but the recent commitments have propelled the Vols into the top 20.
ESPN ranked the Vols class as the 21st best in the nation when they last updated their class rankings on August 14, but that was before McNeil and Croom announced their intentions to sign with Tennessee.
Scout.com and Rivals.com update their class rankings daily, and both of the recruiting services have Tennessee’s class as the 19th best.
Coach Dooley has gotten commitments from five wide receivers, four linebackers, two running backs and two defensive backs during this recruiting cycle.
Tennessee is also considered to be in the mix for several more high school players that are among the nation’s most talented prospects, including Landon Collins, Russell Shell, Yuri Wright, Darius Hamilton, Jordan Diamond, Jeremy Liggins, John Atkins, Beniquez Brown, Dwayne Stanford, Alex Taylor, Jordan Diggs, Nick Dawson, Shaquiile Thompson, Nelson Agholor, Channing Ward and Jordan Watkins.
