The Tennessee Volunteers had a massive influx of talent for the class of 2017 last weekend. There were nine commitments in the span of 48 hours and that showed in the recruiting rankings as well, boosting the Vols' up into the top ten. Most of these commitments came in the wake of UT's Big Orange Carpet event last weekend that saw a ton of rising seniors on campus.
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That's an unprecedented number of commitments in a span of that time and that puts Tennessee up to 18 commits for its 2017 class, which is by far the most in the SEC right now. That has coach Butch Jones excited and ready for some more recruiting as his team has some serious momentum on the recruiting trail now.
"It has caused a lot of momentum — a lot of momentum, a lot of positive energy," Jones said according to Wes Rucker of 247Sports. "And I think it speaks to the positive energy and the excitement we have surrounding our program. With what we have have here now, what we've built and what we'll continue to build, individuals want to be a part of our program now. They want to be a part of this."
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Jones says that it isn't just the staff and coaches putting in the hard work to recruit these kids, but it's also the current Vols already on campus.
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"Our current players have been our greatest ambassadors," Jones said. "They've been the ones that have really taken ownership in our program. They've helped so much in the recruiting process. Recruiting is nothing more than a relationship business and building trust in those relationships, and I'm excited about our class and really our team, because their investment has been great."
With all of the experience on the team right now, Jones and his staff must be pitching the idea that these recruits could see some major playing time early in their careers. Although Tennessee hasn't had anyone drafted the last two years, that is likely to change in a big way this year with so many playmakers on the team.
[h/t Saturday Down South]
