War Room: Tennessee recruiting nuggets, team readies for camp and more
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. And now, it’s on with the news.
Tennessee opens fall camp in 12 days and the Vols are clearly at the point of wanting to get started as ‘talking season’ is about over. Many of the players and assistants will meet the local media on Tuesday July 30th before camp opens on the 31st, but for the coaching staff it’s go time.
Vacations are over and the final touches are being put on the fall camp plan. For head coach Josh Heupel all the promos, TV spots and those type of off-season things are done and it’s basically now all about ball, which couldn’t make the head coach happier.
It’s pretty clear, Heupel likes the make-up of his team overall, but knows that some youth has to grow up quickly. Youth like Jourdan Thomas and Boo Carter at star. Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander at linebacker. Ethan Davis at tight end, tailbacks behind Dylan Sampson and obviously Nico Iamaleava, who Heupel raved about at SEC media days.
It’s not just Heupel that likes this team, it’s the veteran guys as well. Guys like Keenan Pili.
“My goal is to win. Part of the reason I came back is I feel like this team can win,” Pili stated. “You see the talent around. The type of players here. It only takes one year to spark what could be a great season. It has to come from us in the locker room and to mold those pieces because talent is talent but if you have the pieces, you put in the work and people are actually buying in to what’s going on, I feel like we have got a special season.”
As we have noted the last couple of weeks and especially now, the goal for every strength coach is to turn a healthy team over to the head coach for camp. Tennessee seems pretty healthy with all eyes on Cam Seldon and when he might possibly be able to handle some contact in practice.
Part of putting the final touches on a fall camp plan is determining maintenance days for veterans like Pili and Bru McCoy and deciding how much contact a veteran like Cooper Mays will get.
One of the goals for this fall camp is finding an underclassman at center for the future. We think Vysen Lang will work some at guard in fall camp and that the back up center spot is open for the fall and obviously for the future after Mays graduates.
Everyone has been asking about the new contract for Tony Vitello. We continue to hear all financials are in place, it’s just a matter of cleaning up some language in the contract which is what they are working on.
Speaking of working, construction crews continue to work at both Lindsey Nelson Stadium and Neyland Stadium. There’s also been some dirt moved just outside the north entrance to the football complex where the statue of General Neyland will reside until the completion of work around the founders suites over the next year. Upon completion of those suites and the new entrance to them, a location will be created for the statue somewhere around Neyland Stadium.
At LNS, the pressbox is down to the steel, but steel is going up as the steps are going at the student gate at Neyland Stadium, and some work is being done on the expansion of Anderson Training Center.
Recruiting
Atlanta area linebacker Christian Gass is set to commit on Saturday and Tennessee remains in a tremendous spot here. The Vols have crushed it with Gass over the last couple of months and while Georgia certainly pushed for him, it would be a surprise to not see the Vols be the pick here tomorrow. Credit coach ‘Chop’, who has built a great rapport with Gass and his family throughout the process.
All eyes remain on David Sanders heading into the open period next week. Will he hit the road or won’t he? We firmly believe if he does then Tennessee will be a destination to visit again. Based off our talks late in the week though, we aren’t looking for him to visit anywhere as of late Thursday night.
Schools are still pushing, especially Nebraska but it feels like the visits are done as of now. If he doesn’t visit anywhere, we think that sets up well for Tennessee as he has been to Knoxville more than anywhere.
Next Saturday, Shaedy Hayward will make his decision public and the Vols continue to sit in the pole-position in his recruitment. He brings versatility as he is slated for safety but could grow into a linebacker which is something Tim Banks loves about his game. Either way, Tennessee feels like if they get this one across the finish line, they are getting a real future contributor on defense.
Juan Gaston and Josh Petty will come off the board in August. Gaston will go first on August 2nd with Oregon, Tennessee and Georgia being the top three. Most have him pegged for UGA but we don’t think it’s that simple. Gaston is very elusive to grab information for all outlets, so truly trying to figure him out is a tough task.
Oregon is the school that he loved growing up because of the flashy uniforms. And then there is Georgia and Tennessee, who offer a much closer commute for family that Gaston holds very dear to him.
As for Petty, we have said nothing would surprise us in this one. Most have FSU because of his sister going there but we aren’t ruling anything out. We would not even rule out an out-of-left field visit next week.
Onis Konanbanny will also announce in August and the Vols remain strong in that one with FSU being the only team that could change things in our opinion.
We told you last week that Oregon commit Dasaahn Brame was still in play to visit this fall. We won’t be shocked if things turn up even faster than that. Brame loved Tennessee before Oregon came swinging big just before his commitment. Sometimes happiness trumps other factors so we will be keeping an eye on that one.
The biggest visitor next week as of now is Southern Cal commit Daune Morris. De’Rail Sims has turned up the heat on him over the last month and the Vols survived a potential flip to Auburn at the end of June. We expect the full-court press to continue next weekend as we think Tennessee has a strong shot to flip him.
Others who might be in next weekend:
Hoops
Tennessee’s staff has been camped out in Augusta—the epicenter of college basketball recruiting at the moment—for the better part of the week.
Atlanta area prospect Caleb Wilson has seen Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes courtside plenty in the last week.
The five-star prospect and the No. 4 overall player in the Class of 2025 is without question at the top of Tennessee’s wish list in this upcoming class. It goes without saying that landing top-five talent is no easy chore.
Wilson made official visits to UNC, Auburn, Stanford, and Kentucky as a junior. Those programs continue to recruit him, but Stanford and Kentucky have new coaching staffs.
Reports coming out of the Peach Jam this week have indicated that Wilson is in the process of setting up official visits for the fall. As of now Tennessee feels like they’re going to be in line to get one of those visits.
Oregon, Duke, Georgia Tech, and Arkansas are the other four schools being suggested as the most likely visit stops for Wilson.
Some seem to feel like Arkansas and Georgia Tech are the two teams to beat here, but Tennessee is in the middle of this thing swinging for the fences.
Wilson is the highest rated prospect that Tennessee has been seriously involved with since hosting Paolo Banchero on an official visit in 2021.
Chris Cenac is another five-star that’s seen plenty of attention from the Vols this month. Cenac has really blown up this summer. Tennessee has been on him for longer than most, but it’s getting to be a crowded field of suitors.
Cenac has not set official visits yet, obviously Tennessee is pushing to snag one of those.
Washington D.C. area point guard Acaden Lewis is a guy we’ve mentioned since the staff honed in on him back in the spring. Rick Barnes has been spotted courtside at multiple games with Lewis on the floor.
Lewis, the No. 40 overall player in the nation, included Tennessee in his top-eight which he released last week. Tennessee is working hard to secure a visit.
The next few weeks are important in the basketball recruiting world. July is a hectic month with tons of travel for prospects and coaches. At the end of the month most players and their families will get serious about setting dates for official visits.
Tennessee has a handful of guys; like Wilson, Lewis, Cenac, Darius Adams and Nate Ament whose recruitments are going to be high profile and hotly contested. Securing a visit is obviously the first step in being a serious contender.
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