Vols notebook: Tennessee gets big commitment from Briarcrest defensive lineman Omari Thomas

Staff photo by Robin Rudd / Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt fires up his players before the Vols' season opener against Georgia State on Aug. 31 at Neyland Stadium.
Staff photo by Robin Rudd / Tennessee football coach Jeremy Pruitt fires up his players before the Vols' season opener against Georgia State on Aug. 31 at Neyland Stadium.

KNOXVILLE - Tennessee picked up its 19th commitment for the 2020 football recruiting class Monday when four-star defensive tackle Omari Thomas pledged to join the program.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Thomas held a ceremony at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis and selected the Volunteers over a final three that also included Southeastern Conference programs Auburn and Texas A&M.

He's ranked as the No. 8 defensive tackle in the country in the 247Sports.com composite rankings, which also include ESPN.com and Rivals.com, and is the No. 104 player in the country, No. 4 overall in Tennessee.

He becomes the second-highest recruit for the Vols this cycle, right behind Nashville safety Keshawn Lawrence, who is rated as the 66th-best player in the country.

Thomas is the second defensive tackle to commit to the Vols, joining four-star prospect Dominic Bailey.

Smith, Warrior All-SEC

Junior left guard Trey Smith and senior safety Nigel Warrior were Tennessee's lone two representatives on the Associated Press All-SEC team, announced Monday.

Smith was a two-time SEC offensive lineman of the week who played in all 12 games and logged 11 starts for the 7-5 Vols, who will face Indiana (8-4) in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl on Jan. 2. He was the team's highest-graded player on the line with 46 knockdowns. It's his second selection, after earning All-SEC honors as a freshman in 2017.

Warrior finished the regular season tied for the SEC lead with four interceptions and was second among the Vols with 68 tackles. He also had seven pass breakups.

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

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