War Room: Portal talk, recruiting, hoops, and construction

We begin this edition of the War Room as we always do. The War Room is a collective effort of Tennessee notes and news gathered throughout the week by the Volquest staff that is located only on the General’s Quarters. And now, it’s on with the news.

After a busy start to the week with roster moves, the portal has slowed to a halt for the current Tennessee roster and at this point, it feels like what ever remaining movement there might be is going to pretty minimal although we do believe there will be more guys go into the portal. As we know in this day and age anything can change at any point. 

And there are still guys making decisions. There are still guys with COVID years remaining who haven’t made announcements or in some cases, final decisions, but it feels like more are going to be back than are departing. 

Two names that are worth watching for potential portal movement are Doneiko Slaughter and Tamarion McDonald. We believe McDonald is the most likely to stay of the two but there has been some chatter about both this week. If that’s the result then the Vols could be in the portal for a defensive. We have seen them offer Syeed Gibbs from Rhode Island and one wonders if Tennessee would have interest in UCF transfer Corey Thornton, who Heupel and Willie Martinez recruiting to the Knights

As we said on the General’s Quarters this week, after initially letting people know he was likely headed for the NFL, Tyler Baron may look at playing another year in college. We aren’t sure that’s necessarily on Rocky Top though as there has been plenty of chatter about him exploring his options in the portal.

As for Bru McCoy, things have been trending for a return, but the family was still waiting on one last round of NFL advice before making a final decision. 

So when will things settle? One would think over the course of the next week. That’s also the case with guys going pro and mulling over bowl opt outs. 

Josh Heupel and the assistants are on the road for another week, but they will be coming off the road next weekend and and it will much more about bowl preparations. Starting this week and moving forward the focus will become about Iowa and that’s when coaches will need to know who is playing in the bowl game and who isn’t. 

As Austin has said in the chat and on the podcasts, nothing seems like a slam dunk either way with Joe Milton. It does feel like Jaylen Wright has played his last game as a Vol and he will head to the NFL. The same goes for Jabari Small.

But we expect formal decisions/announcements over the next week as bowl practice cranks up late next week. In the mean time it’s about academics. Final exams start today and run through next Thursday and the spring semester doesn’t start until January 22nd. So on the back end of the bowl game it will be a nice 2+ week break for football players while the basketball teams will go some 45 days of their season with no academic stress. 

On the facilities front, construction continues to roll along at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. The left field side structure is starting to take shape and they are continuing to pour concrete. In fact they were pouring some on the left field side on Thursday. On the right field side the new kneel wall is up which has reduced foul territory. That wall will have a brick facade upon completion of the additional seating.

In Neyland Stadium crews are working on the concourse area of the south end zone and it appears there are some cosmetic change coming there to the support beams. 

Recruiting

It goes without saying Tennessee did not get the news they hoped for with Jordan Seaton on Thursday morning. This one had been a roller coaster for a minute, and Colorado quietly worked this one into a commitment. 

It felt like the Vols hit the right buttons down the stretch, and in working this up to the decision, it felt like the Vols had some momentum heading in. Still, Seaton played his cards close to his vest, especially over the last 72 hours, and now it is pretty clear why. 

Now, with Seaton’s commitment to Deion Sanders’ program, this one could still be a thrill a minute to signing day. We would have said the same thing had he chosen Tennessee on Thursday morning. Multiple programs still have in-home visits available, and they will work this to the finish line, but it will be a tall task to pull off a flip, in our estimation.

Elsewhere, Tennessee will host one high school recruit on campus this week in Jaren Sensabaugh. The Ensworth cornerback has continued to have a positive dialogue with the staff of late, and he spent time with Tim Banks earlier this week during the contact period. He is still scheduled to take an official visit to Missouri next weekend, so this decision will likely not be made until closer to signing day.

Notre Dame tight end transfer Holden Staes will be on campus this weekend to check out Tennessee. He has hit it off early with Alec Abeln, and the Vols aim to push here this weekend. With transfers, things tend to get unpredictable, but we believe Staes is one who sees plenty of opportunity at the position in Knoxville. He will also see Washington and Oklahoma over the course of the next week, as he has generated real interest since entering the portal.

Next weekend Southeastern Louisiana tight end Bauer Sharp will visit Tennessee. Much like Staes, Sharp has been productive and is more of a traditional tight end.

The picture of Vol wide receiver commitment Braylon Staley with a South Carolina assistant on social media drew the attention of Tennessee fans on Wednesday night. You can’t discount the fact that he is still listening to the Gamecocks, but at this point based off of our conversations, we believe Tennessee is still in the best possible position.

Tennessee has continued to keep tabs on Jamal Wallace, Brien Taylor, and Kemari Copeland. Each guy seems to be working toward making a decision on signing day. The Vols checked on them each over the past week and will continue to work these down the stretch. Wallace is currently still planning to come into town next week for an official visit. 

Elsewhere, Tennessee continues to make its rounds on the road during the contact period. Throughout the course of the last week, they checked on multiple high-level prospects, including top 2025 offensive tackle David Sanders, who has continued to hit it off well with the staff. 

Rodney Garner was in Louisiana earlier this week to see Texas A&M commit Dominick McKinley. It doesn’t sound like the Aggies will be able to hold onto him and he seems to be listening to several programs. There is a chance he doesn’t sign early and if that is the case, then an official visit to Tennessee in January is very much on the table.

Several coaches will return to campus on Friday for official visits, while others will continue to work their way around the road. Of note, Glenn Elarbee is expected to check on 2025 offensive tackle Juan Gaston, Brian Jean-Mary is expected to check on 2025 LB Kelan Butler and Jerry Mack is expected to check on 2025 RB Ousmane Kromah. 

Bowl practices start up next week, and several soon to be signees are expected to join Tennessee at various points along the way, once they are finished with their high school academic obligations. The names that have indicated to us they will be on campus at some point for bowl practices include:

Mike Matthews
Jake Merklinger
William Satterwhite
Jesse Perry 
Peyton Lewis
Jonathan Echols
Kellen Lindstrom 
Braylon Staley
Max Anderson
Gage Ginther 
Boo Carter
Marcus Goree

Hoops

Tennessee is going to get yet another early season test tomorrow, but at least this match-up with No. 21 Illinois is at home. 

It’s hard to feel great about the Vols’ November, but it’s also hard to get overly down about losses to Purdue and Kansas on neutral courts and on the road at UNC. 

The most surprising thing about the loss at Chapel Hill last week (at least to us) was how nonplussed Rick Barnes was by it. Not that he wasn’t upset, he was pretty disgusted with his team’s play, but he also wasn’t down about his team’s long term potential. In our experience Barnes isn’t generally one to take the long view immediately after a loss. 

Barnes’ biggest takeaway coming out of Chapel Hill (but really in my opinion the whole three game losing streak) was that his team was going to develop an offensive post presence. To say that getting the ball inside was a point of emphasis on the practice floor in between North Carolina and George Mason would be a gross understatement. 

Thus, it’s pretty significant that Jonas Aidoo had a career high 17 points the next game out. Toss in Tobe Awaka’s 11 points and it’s clear that Barnes has sent a message to his team about how they’re going to play, and for at least one game that message was heeded.

Elsewhere there’s a real feeling on this team that Zakai Zeigler is turning a corner in his comeback. He may not be exactly where he was before the injury last February but those around the program are getting the sense that he’s really starting to shake the rust off now. 

The last two games out have been encouraging from Josiah-Jordan James as well. James seems to be finding ways to thrive playing alongside Dalton Knecht if the past two games are any indication. James has gone for 35 combined points in the Vols’ last two games while shooting 14-of-20 (70%) from the field. Obviously that kind of percentage isn’t sustainable, but James is in a groove right now. 

The mystery on the team right now is Santiago Vescovi. The veteran is averaging a career low 7.5 ppg right now. He did make 2-of-4 threes on Tuesday, so that could be a good sign but it feels like he’s pressing at the moment. Vescovi has been too good for too long to think that he won’t figure it out, but the Vols’ won’t be clicking on all cylinders until the third most prolific three-point shooter in program history gets back on track. 

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