Nestled between Tennessee’s 10-2 regular season and the program’s first Orange Bowl berth in a quarter century will be Wednesday’s start to college football’s early signing period.
The Volunteers haven’t disappointed on this front, either.
Tennessee entered this week with the nation’s No. 9 class of commitments, according to the 247Sports.com team rankings, with five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava headlining the 24 who have committed and the 14 who already have participated in bowl practices or will be soon.
“Across the board, I think you have to be pretty impressed,” 247Sports.com recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan said. “Obviously Nico Iamaleava is the star of this class as the five-star quarterback from California, and he’s been the star for almost nine months. This class will largely be defined by what his career looks like, but what Tennessee has done on defense is pretty impressive, too.
“It’s probably what they’ve done best outside of quarterback, because they are upgrading the talent at all three levels.”