Junior college receiver Jeff George commits to Tennessee

Receivers coach Zach Azzanni watches the Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in this file photo.
Receivers coach Zach Azzanni watches the Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in this file photo.

KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee picked up the 11th verbal commitment for its 2016 recruiting class on Saturday afternoon, when junior college wide Jeff George publicly pledged to the Volunteers while on an unofficial visit to campus.

The 6-foot-6, 190-pound George is out of Dodge City Community College in Kansas, where he caught 46 passes for 690 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games last season.

The Kansas native garnered scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Cincinnati, Arizona State, Kansas, Iowa State and others.

The transfers of Vic Wharton and Ryan Jenkins and the injury to freshman Preston Williams -- he's not expected to be ready for the start of preseason training camp -- leave Tennessee a little thin at receiver entering this season, and the Vols will lose three seniors in Pig Howard, Johnathon Johnson and Von Pearson, who remains suspended indefinitely, after the 2015 season.

Thus receiver is a position of need for Tennessee's 2016 class, which figures to be smaller than the Vols' previous two hauls in 2014 and 2015.

After visiting last weekend, George was back on campus for Tennessee's first camp of the summer. He is planning to graduate from Dodge City in December and enroll with the Vols in January. George does not yet have a rating from Rivals or 247sports.

Corey Henderson, a three-star prospect out of Louisiana, is Tennessee's other receiver commitment.

photo Justin Pickett dives across the goal line for a score past Lemond Johnson.

Johnson no longer with Vols

Tennessee released its official summer roster on UTsports.com earlier this week, and in addition to confirming the arrivals of most of the rest of the 2015 class and transfers Ralph David Abernathy IV and Nathan Renfro, it included one notable absence.

Defensive back Lemond Johnson is not on the roster and is no longer with the Vols. The former three-star prospect out of Florida enrolled at Tennessee in January 2013, played in all 12 games on special teams as a true freshman in 2013 and appeared in just four games last season.

Numbers for newcomers

Here are the numbers for Tennessee's freshmen and new transfers.

(1) DT Kahlil McKenzie

(3) DB Micah Abernathy

(5) RB/WR Ralph David Abernathy IV

(7) WR Preston Williams

(8) CB Justin Martin

(10) WR Vincent Perry

(11) LB Austin Smith

(13) QB Sheriron Jones

(14) LB Quart'e Sapp

(17) TE Kyle Oliver

(19) DE Darrell Taylor

(21) RB Joseph Young

(24) CB Darrell Miller

(27) P Tommy Townsend

(31) P Nate Renfro

(46) LS Riley Lovingood

(50) OL Venzell Boulware

(51) OT Drew Richmond

(54) OL Zach Stewart

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.

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