Recruiting season is almost over. At least for a little bit.
With football camps opening up, the future will take a backseat to the present for prospects evaluating a pile of scholarship offers. No one has to make a decision anytime soon and, for those that announce their commitment this week, nothing will be signed until December. That’s important to remember.
The recruiting calendar hit overdrive when the NCAA decided to add an early signing period in 2017. December and January became June and July as prospects announced their decision months before they ever did before. The summer used to be the time to visit schools. Now, it’s the time to commit to schools. However, this bears repeating: Nothing will be signed this week.
Tennessee has its eye on two prospects that are scheduled to announce their commitments this week. The first will announce his decision on Wednesday afternoon. Wilky Denaud from John Carroll High School is scheduled to make his announcement at 5:30 p.m. EST. The edge rusher is down to Auburn, Florida State, Indiana and Tennessee.
Receiver Aidan Mizell is scheduled to announce his decision on Friday at 2:30 p.m. The receiver from Boone High School in Orlando, Fla., is reportedly down to Florida, Alabama and Tennessee.
Both prospects are highly rated and would make great additions to Tennessee’s roster. Both are probably not going to commit to Tennessee this week. Sources tell Off The Hook Sports that Denaud is expected to commit to Auburn. However, Florida State is still in the mix. The Vols will likely be the odd man out.
Mizell is thought to be leaning towards Florida, based on several predictions by recruiting analysts. Before you think this is some sort of downer column, it’s not. It’s practical.
As stated before and should always be remembered, a commitment is non-binding. Let’s take a look at Denaud. Sure, he could commit to Auburn as expected, but what does that really mean? There’s a great chance that Auburn will be looking for a new head coach in a few months. Will Denaud look elsewhere if Bryan Harsin isn’t around?
As for Mizell, there’s a good chance Billy Napier will be a great head coach at Florida. However, his first season isn’t expected to light the world on fire. Tennessee could actually beat Florida, which hasn’t happened often. Would Mizell re-consider his decision if the Vols upend the Gators in Knoxville?
There are certain prospects that are committed to a school and aren’t going to change their mind unless there is some sort of mass upheaval at their future destination Quarterback Nico Iamaleava or any of the local prospects committed to the Vols are great examples. However, those are just a part of the recruiting machine and there are a lot of moving parts.
College coaches won’t stop recruiting a prospect that is committed to another school. Someone is probably trying to contact Iamaleava as you’re reading this. Tennessee won’t stop recruiting Denaud or Mizell if they commit to another school as expected. There is no gentlemen’s agreement in recruiting. Bad news now can turn out to be a fantastic surprise later this fall.
So, if the Vols don’t land Denaud or Mizell, you might want to think twice before blowing them up on Twitter about their bad decision. They might base a future decision off of the response they receive this week.
