KNOXVILLE - As the dust settled on the first day of college football's early signing period, Tennessee's 2018 recruiting class cracked the top 30 in two major national recruiting rankings.
The combination of 12 early signees and four verbal commitments had the Volunteers' class ranked 28th nationally by Rivals.com and 26th nationally by 247Sports.com this afternoon.
The Vols are expected to sign at least one more player during the early signing period, which ends Friday. Consensus four-star receiver Alontae Taylor of Coffee County Central High School is committed to Tennessee and scheduled to sign Friday.
New coach Jeremy Pruitt had less than two weeks to cobble together a group of players for the early signing period after accepting the Tennessee job. The Vols' class ranks ninth in the Southeastern Conference, according to Rivals, and eighth in the SEC according to 247Sports.
"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," Pruitt said in a news release announcing Tennessee's first 11 signees. "We will get back to work when I return in January."
The team Pruitt is leaving behind, Alabama, is second in the SEC behind Georgia in both the 247Sports and Rivals recruiting rankings. Of SEC schools that have undergone a coaching transition this season, Tennessee's class ranked third of five on Thursday afternoon - behind Florida and Mississippi State and ahead of Arkansas and Texas A&M.
Tennessee's signees Wednesday were headlined by a group of four-star commitments who included in-state defensive linemen and longtime commitments Brant Lawless and Greg Emerson. The surprises of the day came when offensive lineman Jerome Carvin and running back Jeremy Banks, both from Cordova High School near Memphis, signed with the Vols.
Later they were joined by quarterback JT Shrout, tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson and defensive end Jordan Allen as newly committed players under Pruitt.
"We are very excited to welcome this group of outstanding young men who signed with us (Wednesday)," Pruitt said in the announcement. "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."
Of the 12 players who have signed, seven are from Tennessee. Carvin, Banks and Emerson are from West Tennessee. Lawless and offensive linemen Tanner Antonutti are from the midstate. Tight end Jacob Warren and offensive lineman Ollie Lane are from the Knoxville area.
"We said we were going to build a fence around the state, and this is a good start," Pruitt said. "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."
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com.