KNOXVILLE - There are just two weeks left before the biggest day of college football's offseason.
Tennessee is hoping to parlay its success on the field in 2015 and championship hopes for next season into a strong finish on the recruiting trail for the 2016 class.
Though the Volunteers currently have just 12 public commitments in addition to four early enrollees, they remain in contention for some touted prospects.
Here are five Tennessee recruiting storylines to watch in the run-up to signing day on Feb. 3.
1. Calling on Kongbo
Arizona Western College defensive end Jonathan Kongbo was committed to Tennessee for a little more than a month before he reopened his recruitment this month amid increased interest from multiple programs.
The Vols remain very much in the mix, however, for the 6-foot-6, 260-pounder from British Columbia, a five-star prospect according to Rivals.com. Landing him, though, will require fending off a crowded group of suitors. Kongbo on Saturday released a top eight of Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, Southern California, Washington, Oregon, Oklahoma and Florida State.
New Tennessee defensive coordinator Bob Shoop and defensive line coach Steve Stripling on Tuesday visited Kongbo, who's slated to take an official visit to Alabama this weekend, and head coach Butch Jones still can make his in-home visit with Kongbo.
2. I am the warrior
Another one of the Vols' top remaining targets is Atlanta-area safety Nigel Warrior, son of former Tennessee defensive back Dale Carter.
The 5-11, 190-pound four-star prospect just visited LSU and will visit Alabama and Tennessee the next two weekends. Warrior took an in-season visit to Ohio State, and Georgia remains a factor. Nearly all of his finalists have undergone coaching staff changes this month.
Tennessee commitment Baylen Buchanan is Warrior's high school teammate.
3. On the line
Among Tennessee's remaining targets are some big-time prospects on the offensive and defensive lines.
The Vols remain in the race for five-star defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who last week released a final five of Tennessee, Georgia, Auburn, Alabama and Mississippi State. Brown visited Auburn last week and will go to Georgia and Tennessee the next two weekends. Brown is the nation's No. 6 player according to 247Sports.
In addition to Brown and Kongbo, Tennessee's defensive line targets include Citra (Fla.) end Jordan Woods, two committed tackles in Tyler Clark (Georgia) and Chris Daniels (Oklahoma) and Jacksonville (Fla.) end JaQuan Bailey.
Tennessee already has three offensive line commitments for this class: Ryan Johnson, Nathan Niehaus and Marcus Tatum). Landon Dickerson, a five-star per 247Sports, could round it off. Dickerson visited Florida last weekend, but Tennessee and Florida State top his list.
4. Wideouts wanted
Tennessee's class includes three wide receivers in early enrollee Jeff George and commitments Corey Henderson and Brandon Johnson, but the Vols would like to add at least one more wideout from among a handful of potential targets.
Five-star Mecole Hardman appears to be a long shot. Warner Robins (Ga.) four-star Marquez Callaway visited the Vols this past weekend, but he still has visits set for Ole Miss and Mississippi State. Butch Jones and receivers coach Zach Azzanni were in Louisiana visiting with Mykel Jones on Monday ahead of his official visit this weekend.
Ahmmon Richards could visit Tennessee this month, and the Vols and Oklahoma remain in the mix for longtime Southern Cal commitment Velus Jones.
5. Flourishing finish?
The past two signing days have been relatively without suspense for Tennessee, which has had most of its hay in the barn on two large classes.
The extent of the signing-day drama last season was Drew Richmond's flip from Ole Miss, and two years ago Michael Sawyers was the only prospect to commit to Tennessee on signing day.
With so many targets still on the board for 2015, however, there are a lot of moving pieces coming down the homestretch for Tennessee, which remains in contention for some big-time prospects.
After landing two straight national top-five classes, the Vols, currently ranked 29th per 247Sports and 30th according to Rivals, will need to land a few of those targets to improve the class and rise in those rankings.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.