The Vols have officially signed 13 recruits. The new football early signing period began Wednesday morning and runs through Friday.
The latest came from Coffee County's Alontae Taylor, who signed with the Vols as a wide receiver Friday and dedicated it to his grandmother who passed away on Dec. 24 in 2009. Taylor is considered a four-star prospect and the fifth best overall prospect in Tennessee.
Thursday, a national letter of intent came from junior college edge defender Jordan Allen. He committed to the Vols on Wednesday night and Tennessee officially announced his signing on Thursday morning.
Besides Allen, the Vols inked seven players that were previously committed to UT and then added four more guys that were uncommitted to begin the day.
The highest rated of that foursome is four-star tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson from Arizona Western College. He's the no. 11 junior college player in the country according to the 247Sports Composite and top juco tight end.
Tennessee also added two Memphis-area signees to its 2018 class. Four-star offensive lineman Jerome Carvin and three-star running back Jeremy Banks will be staying in-state to play for the Vols. Both Memphis products signed earlier today at Cordova High School's early signing period ceremony.
After losing both 2018 quarterback commits, Adrian Martinez and Michael Penix, Jeremy Pruitt and staff picked up a new QB on early signing day.
Three-star JT Shrout decommitted from Cal on Tuesday night and signed with the Vols on Wednesday. The Newhall, Calif. native is the no. 26 pro-style QB in the class of 2018.
“We are very excited to welcome this group of outstanding young men who signed with us today,” head coach Jeremy Pruitt said in a press release. “They are terrific football players, who also display exceptional character off the field. We appreciate the commitment they have made to the University of Tennessee. They will be the foundation for our first signing class here. We said we were going to build a fence around the state and this is a good start. We also know that Tennessee is a national brand, and it’s exciting that some of these players from across the country will be wearing the ‘T’ on their helmets. We hope to have a few more guys sign these next two days, too."
"We know we still have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail, as we will sign several more players in February, but today is a great way to begin. We will get back to work when I return in January. I want to thank Vol Nation for all of the support these first two weeks on the job. I am honored and humbled to be your head coach, and I’m looking forward to devoting all of my time to our football team following the College Football Playoff.”
Vols 2018 signees (star ratings according to 247Sports Composite):
Tanner Antonutti - 3* OL - Ensworth, Nashville
Paxton Brooks - 3* K (Punter) - Airport HS, West Columbia, SC
Ollie Lane - 3* OL - Gibbs HS, Knoxville, Tenn.
Jerome Carvin - 4* OL - Cordova HS, Cordova, Tenn.
Jeremy Banks - 3* RB - Cordova HS, Cordova, Tenn.
JT Shrout - 3* QB - William S. Hart HS, Newhall, Ca.
Kingston Harris - 3* DL - IMG Academy, Bradenton, Fla.
Jacob Warren - 3* TE - Farragut (Tenn.) HS
Brant Lawless - 4* DT - Nashville Christian
Greg Emerson - 4* DL - Northside HS, Jackson, Tenn.
Dominick Wood-Anderson - 4* TE - Arizona Western College
Jordan Allen - 3* LB/DE - City College of San Francisco
Alontae Taylor - 4* WR - Coffee County (Manchester), Tenn.