Wednesday was about who is coming to join Tennessee as the 27 football players who comprise the Class of 2024 were officially announced. Many of them are already here practicing. Overall, 18 will enroll early.
Conversely, the previous two days were devoted, in part, to who’s not going anywhere for the time being. On Monday, Keenan Pili, a transfer linebacker who missed the final 11 games due to injury, detailed his decision to return. On Tuesday, veterans Cooper Mays and Omari Thomas laid out their reasons for staying another season.
It’s all part of the yin and yang of this hectic period. Recruiting reaches a climax while players pass in and out through the transfer portal like busy Christmas shoppers.
There once was a sense of finality to signing day. Roster-wise, the hay was in the barn until next season. Now, UT’s roster could still change before the Citrus Bowl versus Iowa Jan. 1. At a Wednesday press conference, Coach Josh Heupel’s best projection for game day was: “I think we’re pretty set on the majority of the guys.”
In this environment, any VFL sentiment is hard pressed to withstand the allure of NIL, among other considerations. Therefore, it wasn’t surprising to hear Mays and Thomas speak on behalf of the program while addressing their personal motivations
Thomas, a defensive lineman, framed his team endorsement around the bowl game.
“I feel like this bowl game is just going to give us a step, to just really go out there and continue to prove who we are every day in this locker room,” he said. “That’s something that we’re really just trying to put out there, is just who we are as the Tennessee football team.”
In the meantime, the “who” remains in flux. The transfer portal will be open until the day after Tennessee’s bowl game.
Mays, who will return to play center and anchor the offensive line, characterized his choice not only in terms of who will be in that locker room but also who will be lining up with him.
“I love it around here, and I love being a Volunteer,” Mays said. “No better way to finish it than to try and finish it the right way and be here with my brothers.”
Eventually, the brotherhood will be set for next season . . . eventually.
Here’s some other signing day notes:
-Tennessee’s Class of 2024 has two high school signees – edge rusher Jordan Ross and wide receiver Mike Matthews – who received 5-star ratings. Eight other signees were consensus 4-star prospects.
-Three of the signees are from the Chattanooga area: Boo Carter and Marcus Goree Jr. from Bradley Central High and Carson Gentle from McCallie. Carter is a 4-star prospect, while Goree, a defensive back, got a 4-star rating from the On3 website.
Heupel described the 5-foot-11, 184-pound Carter as a “dynamic playmaker” and added, “He’s got a real maturity on the football field that’s rare for a freshman.”
-Notre Dame transfer Holden Staes was the top tight end available in the portal. In 11 games this season, the sophomore had 15 catches for 176 yards and four touchdowns.
-The Vols added a pair of defensive back transfers: Jermod McCoy from Oregon State and Jakobe Thomas from Middle Tennessee State. McCoy, a sophomore rated the No. 9 cornerback in the portal, broke up seven passes as a freshman and had two interceptions. Thomas, a redshirt junior rated the No. 12 safety available by 247Sports, had 71 tackles, three tackles for loss and broke up five passes.
-The return of Thomas and Mays will help offset the loss of defensive end Tyler Baron and safety Tamarion McDonald, who committed to Ole Miss, along with the transfer of several defensive backs.
-Ten of the new players, everyone from high school signees to walk-ons, are from the state of Tennessee.
Class of 2024: Max Anderson OL, Kaleb Beasley DB, Marshall Box LS, Jordan Burns LB, Boo Carter ATH, Edrees Farooq DB, Carson Gentle DL, Gage Ginther OL, Marcus Goree Jr. DB, Cole Harrison TE, Jeremias Heard DL, Peyton Lewis RB, Kellen Lindstrom DL, Jackson Mathews DB, Mike Matthews WR, Jermod McCoy DB, Jake Merklinger QB, Jesse Perry OL, Eli Purcell LB, Jordan Ross DL, William Satterwhite OL, Edwin Spillman LB, Holden Staes TE, Braylon Staley WR, Jakobe Thomas DB, Jamal Wallace DL, Bennett Warren OL.
Dan Fleser is a 1980 graduate of the University of Missouri, who has covered University of Tennessee athletics since 1988. He is a 2022 inductee to the Tennessee Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He can be reached at danfleser3@gmail.com.