Tennessee landed football and basketball commitments Thursday, with the Volunteers adding an intraconference football transfer as well.
The football commitment came from Jordan Phillips, a 6-foot-2, 300-pound defensive lineman from Ocoee, Florida. The three-star prospect is the No. 95 defensive lineman nationally and the No. 642 prospect overall, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings.
"My mom is the most important person in my life, and my college journey is going to take me back to her roots," Phillips told USA Today. "I'm born and raised in Florida, but my mom, well, she's a Tennessee girl. Now I'm a Tennessee Vol."
Phillips visited Knoxville twice last month and is Tennessee's seventh commitment for the 2022 recruiting cycle and the third from Florida, joining Winter Park defensive end Venson Sneed and Fort Walton offensive tackle Brian Grant.
"Jordan Phillips getting to work out in front of defensive line coach Rodney Garner quickly made him a priority for Tennessee, and he's a guy whose stock has continued to rise," said Ryan Callahan, who covers recruiting for 247Sports. "I think they're getting a pretty good player who's got a nice list of offers that includes Florida, Georgia and Ole Miss in this last month. The arrow is pointing up on him, and it's a position of need.
"Tennessee needs lots of help on the defensive line in this 2022 class."
Transferring into Josh Heupel's program was former Alabama defensive back Brandon Turnage, who played sparingly for the Crimson Tide the last two seasons and had committed to Georgia earlier this year. Turnage, a 6-1, 186-pounder from Oxford, Mississippi, announced his commitment to Tennessee on Instagram and is listed as a summer student on UT's online directory.
Turnage, the No. 11 cornerback and the No. 102 overall recruit in the 2019 signing class, played against Western Carolina as a freshman before redshirting and competed last season against Arkansas, LSU and Mississippi State. He will have four seasons of eligibility with the Vols, given the NCAA's allotted extra year due to the coronavirus.
Committing to Rick Barnes and the basketball Vols was Brian Edwards Jr., a 6-3, 170-pound point guard from Knoxville Catholic. Edwards is the No. 15 point guard in the 2022 signing cycle and the No. 119 overall prospect.
"Thank you to all my family for support, to my coaches for making me better and always being there, to my friends for the good laughs and funny times, and to Rick Barnes and the whole coaching staff," Edwards posted on Twitter. "I'm so excited and happy and ready to work!"
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.
247Sports.com photo / Tennessee received a commitment Thursday from Knoxville Catholic four-star point guard Brian Edwards Jr.