Vols get a commitment from the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country

Lausanne's Eric Gray runs for a touchdown against Notre Dame during the TSSAA Division II-AA state title game in December 2017 in Cookeville, Tenn. Gray is now a freshman for the Tennessee Volunteers.
Lausanne's Eric Gray runs for a touchdown against Notre Dame during the TSSAA Division II-AA state title game in December 2017 in Cookeville, Tenn. Gray is now a freshman for the Tennessee Volunteers.

KNOXVILLE - By the time Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt took the podium Wednesday afternoon, the Volunteers had addressed almost every position group on the team during the first day of the NCAA's early signing period for the 2019 recruiting cycle.

All but one position group, in fact - running back.

That changed Thursday.

Memphis running back Eric Gray, rated by 247Sports.com as a four-star prospect and the No. 1 all-purpose back in the country, announced he was signing with the Vols during a ceremony at Lausanne Collegiate School. The 5-foot-10, 193-pound prospect did sign, picking Tennessee over South Carolina.

Gray was committed to Michigan before backing out recently. He had officially visited Tennessee on Sept. 22 and had since taken a couple of unofficial visits to Knoxville, including this past weekend. The week before he had taken an official visit to South Carolina.

He is a three-time Tennessee Mr. Football honoree who had a state-record 138 touchdowns in his high school career. In his last two seasons, he ran for 5,650 yards and 85 touchdowns, including 2,499 and 40 as a senior.

He has been selected for the All-American Bowl on Jan. 5 in San Antonio. Another new Vol, receiver Ramel Keyton, will be joining him in Texas.

"Eric is a guy that comes from a winning football program," Pruitt said in a news release. "He is used to having the ball in his hands. He's very creative. He has really good hands, runs with power and great vision. It's hard to get a good lick on him. He's a guy that we targeted early in the process and we're really excited that he is here. He's another guy that's a very good student, comes from a good family and we're fired up about having him."

Gray comes in at a position of need. The Vols have three running backs returning who logged carries in 2018 - junior-to-be Ty Chandler, who led the Vols with 630 yards on 115 carries and had a team-high seven touchdowns (four rushing, three receiving); classmate Tim Jordan, who had 522 yards on the ground with three rushing scores; and senior Carlin Fils-aime, who spent the first seven games at cornerback before moving to tailback and rushing for 36 yards.

The early signing period continues through Friday, and the beginning of the traditional signing period for the 2019 class is Feb. 6.

Of the Vols' 18 signees so far for 2019, 10 are offensive players. Four of those are linemen, and their number could grow. The top-rated offensive tackle in the country, Darnell Wright of Huntington, West Virginia, is rumored to be leaning toward signing with Tennessee.

Tennessee averaged 22.8 points, 129.1 rushing yards and 325.5 total yards per game in 2018 - Pruitt's first year with the program - on the way to a 5-7 record and a second consecutive season without a bowl.

As for recruiting, as of Thursday evening, the Vols were ranked 16th nationally by 247Sports and 13th by Rivals.com.

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3 or at Facebook.com/VolsUpdate.

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