Vols football recruiting steady despite Butch Jones uncertainty, decommitments, analysts say

Speculation swirls about the coach’s future, the program’s image faces the storm, and recruits begin to retract their commitments. All of it, one national college football analyst said, is “just par for the course.”

“What's happening with Tennessee happens to every school that's going through these times,” said Steve Wiltfong, 247Sports’ director of recruiting, after the Vols officially lost two from their 2018 recruiting class this week.

Tennessee has lost three 2018 commitments this month: four-star safety Brendon Harris of Baylor School in Chattanooga, three-star wide receiver Jatavious Harris of  Milledgeville, Ga., and four-star running back Lyn-J Dixon of Butler, Ga. The Vols also recently lost their commitment from four-star wide receiver TJ Sheffield, a 2019 prospect out of Independence in Thompson’s Station.

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But with coach Butch Jones’ future at Tennessee mired in uncertainty and the Vols (3-4, 0-4 SEC) limping through conference play, GoVols247 writer Ryan Callahan said the program has done an adequate job retaining its 2018 class, which has shrunk to 20 players and now is No. 10 in the 247Sports Composite team rankings.

“Considering the amount of uncertainty surrounding the staff right now, I think Tennessee is actually doing a decent job of weathering the storm,” Callahan said. “I know the timing of (this week’s) official decommitments might look like a bunch of guys are jumping ship, but those were sort of unique situations.”

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Brendon Harris committed to the Vols in May, and Jatavious Harris committed in April. Earlier this month, both announced via Twitter that they were reopening their recruitments.

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“After that happened, Tennessee kind of assessed both guys and I think sort of just made a decision to move on and look at other options just for various reasons,” Callahan said. “I think they were sort of taking a step back because those players took a step back, and it gave them a chance to re-evaluate what they need in their class.”

On Tuesday, Brendon Harris subtly announced his commitment to Vanderbilt. On Wednesday, Jatavious Harris confirmed he had decommitted from Tennessee.

“It has the appearance of guys jumping ship right now, and I think there are a couple of other guys that have done that,” Callahan said, “but in this case, those two in particular, I don't think they were so much.”

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Could Vols lose some top players?

On Oct. 14, Dixon decommitted after first committing in June. Eight days later, Sheffield,  who was considered a soft commit after pledging in September, decommitted.

“Tennessee has so much to sell that when a young man visits their campus, they're instantly a contender, and Butch Jones and his staff did a good job at getting guys to commit, so they have a full class,” Wiltfong said. “So with the full class now, you’ve got a bunch of young men getting nervous about who the potential coaching staff is going to be. And for some of those guys, they just want to get back in the recruiting process.

“Say if Tennessee does make a move, you certainly expect the young men to make sure that the Tennessee they that committed to the first time is still what they're getting. But if they do fire Butch Jones, they're going to hire someone with some juice to them … Some of these guys that are looking around right now I think will end up back in Tennessee's class. Others, once you start dating again, maybe you marry somebody else.”

Callahan said Tennessee’s biggest concern will be ensuring it doesn’t lose more from the top tier of its 2018 class.

“Some of the higher-ranked players in this class are going to look around leading up to signing day,” Callahan said, “and that's probably their biggest concern right now, is holding some of those guys together to keep the core of this class.”