KNOXVILLE -- College football recruiting rarely stops.
As the letters of intent rolled in to complete Tennessee's 2015 signing class earlier this month, the Volunteers' coaches were continually calling prospects for the 2016 and 2017 classes.
And those conversations weren't the first for the coaches or the prospects.
"Everything's accelerated, everything with the recruiting process," Vols coach Butch Jones said last week. "Right now, everyone is recruiting 2016, 2017 (prospects). It's a long process.
"It's a very tedious process with junior days, and then you go into spring recruiting, and then you go into the summer months. It's critical that you get these prospective student-athletes on campus and you start building relationships with them. You can learn so much more about them when you get them on your campus.
"That's really where your relationships really start to build, start to manifest themselves. Our coaches did a great job of really getting this (2015) recruiting class to campus, and not just one or two times, but on multiple, multiple occasions. That really helps grow the relationships.
"It's nonstop, it's ever evolving each and every day, and it does become more and more accelerated."
Tennessee had seven early commitments for its 2016 class until linebacker Emanuel Bridges reopened his recruitment this past week.
After signing classes of 32 and 29 players, and with only 13 scholarship seniors for the 2015 season, Tennessee likely is headed toward a smaller class of perhaps around 20 players in 2016. But the situation with the numbers is always very fluid.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.
Here's a look at the six early public commitments for Tennessee's 2016 recruiting class.
ATH Dorian Banks * Hometown (School): Sevierville, Tenn. (Sevier County) * Ratings review: Banks is a three-star prospect and a top-20 player in Tennessee according to both Rivals.com and 247Sports.com. * Prospect profile: The 5-foot-9, 168-pound Banks was coming off a big sophomore season as a running back and defensive back when he committed to Tennessee last February. After transferring to Gallatin High School, he's back at Sevier County. His only other scholarship offer is from Kentucky, but the speedy Banks attended camps at some other SEC programs last summer. TE Devante Brooks * Hometown (School): Washington, D.C. (St. John's College) * Ratings review: According to Rivals, Brooks is a four-star prospect, the No. 4 tight end and No. 62 overall player in 2016. * Prospect profile: The most recent commitment in the class, Brooks was one of Tennessee's top targets at the tight end position, and the 6-5, 225-pounder picked the Vols over Virginia Tech and scholarship offers from West Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, Maryland and others. He's coming off a knee injury that forced him to miss his junior season. OL Ryan Johnson * Hometown (School): Brentwood, Tenn. (Brentwood Academy) * Ratings review: Johnson is a four-star prospect according to both Rivals and 247Sports, which ranks him fifth in Tennessee for this cycle. * Prospect profile: "I've liked Tennessee my whole life," the big offensive tackle told the TFP after he committed to the Vols last July to get Tennessee's offensive line class off to a strong start. His early scholarship offer list includes Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Clemson, and a host of other schools expressed early interest in the 6-6, 275-pounder. QB Austin Kendall * Hometown (School): Waxhaw, N.C. (Cuthbertson) * Ratings review: A consensus four-star prospect, Kendall is ranked the No. 3 pro-style quarterback in 2016 by Rivals. * Prospect profile: After hiring a new offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and signing three quarterbacks in 2015, can the Vols hold onto Kendall? His older brother, Ryan, is a receiver at Kentucky, and Kendall's offer list includes Clemson, West Virginia, Miami, Virginia and others. As a junior, he passed for 4,461 yards and 49 touchdowns. CB Marquill Osborne * Hometown (School): Cornelius, N.C. (William Amos Hough) * Ratings review: The four-star player is ranked as one of the top players in North Carolina, a state where the Vols continue to emphasize and find success. * Prospect profile: Osborne committed to Tennessee over offers from South Carolina, Duke, North Carolina, N.C. State and Wake Forest. He recently picked up an offer from LSU as well. The Charlotte-area product went to three of Tennessee's games last season and committed after the Vols beat Arkansas State in September. CB Bailey Phillips * Hometown (School): West Mesquite, Texas (West Mesquite) * Ratings review: The 5-8, 160-pound Phillips is a three-star prospect. * Prospect profile: Phillips is a cousin of Dimarya Mixon, a rising sophomore defensive lineman at Tennessee. The offer from the Vols was one of his earliest, and he picked Tennessee over the likes of UCLA, Clemson, Utah, Wake Forest and SMU. The Vols plucked an under-the-radar three-star cornerback out of Texas in Darrell Miller this year, too.