Clemson football: The best recruiting classes in the 2023 cycle
By John Chancey
#9 (Tied): Tennessee Volunteers
- Verbal Commitments: 18
- 247 Composite Rank: #7
- 247 Composite Score: 249.85
- 247 Composite Average Rating: 90.43
Recruit rankings:
- 1-50: 4
- 51-100: 2
- 101-200: 1
- 201-400: 3
- 400+: 10
- Quarterback commitments: 1
Tennessee is tied for this spot with two other teams. Of the three, the Volunteers have the most commitments, but the lowest average rating because many of those commitments are outside the Top 400.
Tennessee has a highly ranked quarterback. If you follow college football, you probably know his name, even if you don’t follow recruiting. His name is Nicholaus Iamaleava. He goes by Nico, and he is from Long Beach, California. That’s not something you hear every day – a kid from Cali on Rocky Top.
You would know his name because the reports (or rumors, depending on your perspective) are that Iamaleava received a very large NIL pitch from Tennessee boosters. He is very talented – he’s the overall #2 player after Arch Manning in the 247 Composite. I don’t think it’s crazy to assume that some of Tennessee’s other highly rated commitments got NIL money too.
We could debate the long-term effects of NIL – whether players will be more likely to stay put or transfer in the future, etc – until we are blue in the face, but what is important here is that the Volunteers have recruited enough talent in the Class of 2023 to keep them relevant.