Tennessee struck out on five-star wide receiver Carnell Tate Monday afternoon. The Vols were favorites for the IMG Academy prospect, but eventually lost out to Brain Hartline and Ohio State for his services.
It’s one of the first major misses of the 2023 recruiting cycle for the Vols, who also recently lost to Clemson for fringe four/five-star defensive lineman Vic Burley and missed on .
Tennessee is still targeting some strong receivers to add to its 2023 class. As of now, only three-star Nate Spillman has joined the ranks as a pass-catcher in head coach Josh Heupel’s quick strike offense.
Let’s run through the list of the remaining players Tennessee will take a swing at.
Devin Hyatt
Let’s stay at IMG Academy for the first one.
Devin Hyatt, brother of current Vols Jalin Hyatt, seems like an obvious rebound for the Vols right now. Tennessee has been recruiting him for some time now; having a brother on the team certainly helps.
Hyatt has an impressive offer list, including the usual suspects of Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and Kentucky to name a few, trimming his list to Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Tennessee on May 11.
He has not been able to go on many official visits, only officially visiting South Carolina on June 10. Hyatt unofficially visited Tennessee in a major recruiting weekend in early April.
The Florida speedster is considered the No. 48 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 63 prospect from the athlete-rich state of Florida.
Malik Benson
Malik Benson would be quite the get for Tennessee football.
Considered to be the No. 1 JUCO prospect in the nation, Benson has accumulated quite the offer list. The Alabama’s of the world want him, let’s just put it at that.
It’s not hard to see why. Benson hails from Hutchinson Community College in Kansas, the same that developed Cordarrelle Patterson and Alvin Kamara. Certainly, there is a Tennessee pipeline developing there.
And Benson has hinted towards joining that impressive list to play for Tennessee. After an official visit, Benson said the Vols were his leader. However, Benson still had visits to Alabama and Georgia. He has since finished those official visits, and says he wants to commit some time in July.
Apart from Tate, Benson might be one of Tennessee’s top targets this offseason.
Aidan Mizell
Another Florida prospect.
Aidan Mizell, a four-star receiver out of Boone High School in Orlando, has the potential to be a very good college player. The 6-foot-2, 180-pound prospect is ranked as the No. 18 wide receiver in the country and a top 115 player per 247 Sports composite.
He has a track background as well, but shines on the football field. Mizell caught 47 passes for over 1000 yards and 18 touchdowns his junior season and is deadly in short routes. At the same time, there are few defensive backs that could stop a go-route from Mizell at his current level.
Mizell is currently thought to be favored to pick Florida, but it’s way too early to count on anything. He just completed official visits to Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia in the past two weeks.
Ayden Williams
Williams is slightly different from the ret on this list. At 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Williams is an athletic and larger-build receiver that closer resembles Cedric Tillman.
A four-star from Mississippi, Williams is rated as the No. 150 prospect in America and the No. 25 receiver. Williams trails only Ole Miss commit Suntarine Perkins as the No. 2 prospect in the state of Mississippi.
Lane Kiffin and Ole Miss are the favorites to land No. 2 as well. Kiffin has made a habit of retaining in-state players, but don’t count the Vols out just yet.
Williams has only officially visited South Carolina. The Vols cracked his top six list that includes the Gamecocks, LSU, Ole Miss, Georgia and Deion Sanders-led Jackson State.
