27 Vols Introduced As Part of #RockyTop24

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee football welcomed 27 new members to the program as part of the #RockyTop24 signing class on Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

The class includes 23 high school prospects and four college transfers. Eighteen of the 27 are slated to be early enrollees, who will participate in spring practice. Several of those are already on campus now going through Citrus Bowl workouts.

"I love the length and athleticism that we've added," said head coach Josh Heupel, who signed his second straight top-15 class. "You look at what we've signed, obviously a point of emphasis was the line of scrimmage. We'll continue to add really good players to our roster in that way, and then athleticism and length at the skill spots. They're dynamic in the way that they play. I love the competitive makeup of this group. Some guys have already shown some leadership traits, and I'm excited to get to work with them whenever they get to campus."

Eight members of the high school class hail from in-state, including 2023 Division I, Class 6A Mr. Football Boo Carter from Bradley Central High School in Chattanooga. Four-star defensive back Kaleb Beasley, ranked the No. 2 overall prospect in the state by On3, and four-star linebacker Edwin Spillman signed with the Vols via Nashville's Lipscomb Academy.

In addition, five members of the class are from the state of Georgia highlighted by five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews of Parkview High School in Lilburn.

Tennessee signed five defensive linemen, including five-star standout Jordan Ross of Vestavia Hills, Alabama, ranked the No. 1 edge rusher in the nation by 247Sports.

Among the four college transfers is Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, an Atlanta native who caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns this season.

The Vols continue their preparations for the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl with practices on Thursday and Friday before departing for Orlando on Dec. 26. Kickoff against No. 17 Iowa on New Year's Day is 1 p.m. ET on ABC.

Tennessee National Signing Day Press Conference | Dec. 20, 2023
Head Coach Josh Heupel

Opening Statement
"It's good to see y'all. (It was) a big day for Tennessee football and the future of where we're going, welcoming the class of '24 and a great day. A lot of those guys are already here, but I want to thank our coaches and our recruiting staff. There are so many people that go into the work that takes place to sign a class on National Signing Day. I also want to thank all the high school coaches that have been so welcoming to all of us as we've traveled around our footprint and across the country, the coaches have been awesome. Lastly, I want to thank the families that have trusted their kids to us and helping them grow into the men and players that they dream about. Really excited about this group; 27 guys at this point we've signed so far. I think 15 of those (high school) kids are mid-year (enrollees) that are with us right now—the high school guys. We have a few transfer portal guys that are already here on campus as well. Excited about the group. I love the length and athleticism that we've added. You look at what we've signed, obviously a point of emphasis was the line of scrimmage. We'll continue to add really good players to our roster in that way, and then athleticism and length at the skill spots. So, I feel like it is a really good group. They're dynamic in the way that they play. I love the competitive makeup of this group. Some guys that have already shown some leadership traits and I'm excited to get to work with them whenever they get to campus."

On the challenges to recruiting and adjustments his staff has to make as recruiting dynamics change…
"Well, the dynamics are different in that your roster has an opportunity to leave at the end of the year as they look for the right place, right time, right fit for themselves. I think you look at our ability to retain a majority of our roster, you look at the guys that chose to come back for another year, a lot of veteran guys, some of them had opportunities to move on to the next level. I feel like the culture, the energy, the ability to develop here, that it was right for them to come back for another year, too. So, there's a lot of things that go into it. I think the hardest thing in today's landscape is the uncertainty of the numbers. That can be with your entire roster (or) it can be with position groups. So, because of the portal the recruitment of these guys, and I'm talking about the fact that kids will still be going into the portal here into January, you're constantly evaluating your roster, where you're at, what are the needs that you have? You're looking for athletic traits. At times, you feel like you need experience. At times, you feel like there's guys that are on campus that you need to develop and get them ready to play by the time that you kick off next year."

On if it's harder to project two to three years into the future given the current recruiting landscape…
"You have to recruit with the mindset of still developing the young guys that are coming on your campus. At the same time, you have to understand that as you recruit during the course of the year there may be guys that decide to leave your roster, and so, your numbers at a certain position can change early, and in the middle and at the late part of the season."

On the state of the secondary heading into 2024...
"I like the physical traits of the guys that are in the building right now. We have some young guys that got to grow and mature as football players, but I love the athletic traits. That's true of the young guys that were with us this past season (and) true of the signees that are coming in. We felt like we wanted to add some experience in those positions. We've attacked that through the portal with a couple guys, as well."

On the potential of the offensive line signees to provide depth next season...
"It's a group that I really like. High-end, competitive makeup. It's a really mature group. High school offensive linemen almost always are going to have to develop the physical attributes. I'm just talking about the strength and size that you're going to need to be able to play at this level. A lot of those guys, I think four of them are already here right now, they've shown the athletic traits that we thought we saw on video. It's a long journey to get those guys ready, but it's a really good group."

On signee Boo Carter...
"I thought our staff did a great job inside of our home state. I think we got eight guys that will be joining us in this class from the state of Tennessee. You mention Boo (Carter), Mr. Football, dynamic playmaker, has played both sides of the line of scrimmage. (He) was really good as a returner, as well. We've already seen a lot of those skill sets from him. This might be day three or day four already for him out on the grass with us. He's electric, he's got great change of direction, quickness and a really good football IQ. He's natural as a returner, too. We've already seen some of that from him. Really excited about who he is. He's got a real maturity about him on the football field that is rare for a high school kid. I got a chance to see some of that when I watched him play live, but also already in his transition here."

On running back signee Peyton Lewis...
"A track kid that is electric with the ball in his hands. This year, you look at his development between the tackles, great vision, great ability, quickness, constantly chewing up ground as he's working through the line of scrimmage, developed the ability to play with great pad level, smart, tough and competitive. Really excited about him."

On wide receiver signee Mike Matthews…
"Mike Matthews has been really good the first three or four days already out on the grass. (He's) got great length, just talking about his wingspan, extremely explosive. The ability to go and high point a ball in the middle of the football field or out on the edge just going vertically. As a wide receiver, you are going to have to develop the ability to play versus man press at the line of scrimmage. Those are things that you typically don't see (from a high school player). But a really bright guy who's got a great future."

On if the portal has affected high school prospects' desire for immediate playing time…
"First of all, they've always asked (about early playing time). I asked that question too. Absolutely, they're looking at your roster and what's going on in the portal and recruiting as well, as part of the process of what your roster is going to look like when they step foot on campus. They'll ask just the general overall philosophy question about that too."

On recruiting in the SEC…
"As competitive as it is on the football field, it's even more competitive in recruiting. The time, energy, effort and strain. Everybody is working in the same footprint. I think we're one of the few leagues left where it's actually a regional footprint. You're competing against guys inside of your conference every time you're talking to a kid."

On Holden Staes, Jakobe Thomas and Jermod McCoy…
"Holden has the physical attributes. You can see in his footage already that he has the ability to play out in space and connect it in the line of scrimmage. He has the body type and frame to do everything that we're going to ask him to do inside of this league and our offense. He's bright and competitive. He has the makeup to help us immediately. Obviously, that's a position over the last couple of years that we knew we were going to have to go attack in the portal. The secondary guys are athletic, have great short-area quickness, are willing to be physical and stick their face on people. They have multiple years left where they can grow inside of what we're doing. I feel like both of them can make an immediate impact as well."

On if Jakobe Thomas and Holden Staes are practicing…
"Jakobe was out there today. Holden is on campus today."

On Jake Merklinger…
"He's going to have to grow really quickly. He'll get spoon-fed as we start here in January and grow into spring football. Smart, competitive and has good fundamentals. We have to refine some of those things. He's already been working on those things since he set foot on campus. His football IQ, ability to retain information and process out on the football field. He's a winner, he's competitive and has the right make-up."

On the emphasis on recruiting in-state prospects…
"We are always going to place an emphasis on it. We spend a lot of time and energy in communication with the high school coaches. Those are guys that have their boots on the ground here. We're going to recruit them the right way. It doesn't mean we'll get every single one of them or offer every single one of them. We want to make sure that we are very thorough in the evaluation process based on where we're at, who they are, what their make-up is and if it's the right fit."

On balancing adding portal players and developing younger players and how big the state of Tennessee will be in next year's class…
"At the end of the day, you're trying to build your roster to be its best. That's in the immediate, but you also have to have a long-term future of it as well. You have to have kids inside of your program that you're developing physically within your scheme, and the culture and leadership that you want inside of your program too. There are more changes to your program than there used to be in trying to project. At the same time, you have to develop from within as well.

"The state of Tennessee is going to be huge for us in this upcoming cycle. It always is, but next year is a great year inside of this (state), and you can already see that with some of the guys that we've evaluated. We've had a great reception from the high school coaches across the state in the short time that we've been here and have developed good relationships and rapport. We've had a lot of those coaches here on campus already and have had an opportunity to come and spend time with our staff to get to know who we are and what we are about. It's a great year inside of this state."

On how set the roster is for next season…
"I think we're closing in on being more defined on our roster. With the portal dates, nothing is finalized at this point for any team across the country. That's your own roster, but it's also guys that become available in the portal. It's different in that National Signing Day used to mean that was the end of the transition of your roster, and your roster was known for the next year. At this point, there's a good percentage that you know about, but there's still going to be opportunities through the portal as we continue to go through the month of January. You look at last year, I think we had Omarr (Norman-Lott), Gabe Jeudy-Lally and Keenan Pili that were all added after the bowl game."

On the roster being set for the Citrus Bowl…
"I feel like we're pretty set on a majority of those guys that will be traveling with us to Orlando. You talked about the young DBs. This is the time of year — 20 years ago, everybody played in the bowl game. There were really no opt outs at that time. With the NFL, more guys have elected to do that. You look over the recent history of bowl games, it provides a great opportunity to the young guys inside of your roster that may have played sporadically throughout the course of the season on offense and/or defense that get an opportunity to go out and play. They get game-week preparation, they get a couple of extra weeks because of the bowl preparation. It provides opportunity, and I do feel good about the guys that will be out there in the secondary."

On if he is comfortable going into next season with a redshirt-freshman quarterback…
"I think quarterback is one of the positions, you look across the country, it's hard to have the depth at that position that you historically may have had. We're going to continue to always evaluate. That's true at quarterback, but it's true at every position here as we go through January."

On if it would be difficult to add a portal quarterback with presumed starter Nico Iamaleava on the roster…
"Yes sir, it is."

On how much flexibility they have with the portal right now and how he feels about the prospects they are pursuing…
"The recruiting process for those guys, some of those guys make quick decisions, some of those guys you've been in communication with that are already in the portal that may elect to take a visit in January or they're nearing the decision process, don't have it finalized by a day like today when I'm speaking in front of you. There are going to be guys that will continue to get into the portal on the back end of some of these bowl games, too. That's where it's different than it used to be. Personnel that would become available, you have to constantly monitor and evaluate the player and the personnel here as you go through Christmas, through January."

On the importance of adding Cole Harrison at tight end in addition to Holden Staes and how he feels about the tight end position…
"Like the room where we're at right now. You're always going to continue to evaluate every position, like I said, and tight end would continue to be one. Cole was big for us because he has length, athleticism. As he continues to develop physically, I think his traits are only going to showcase more. He has really good ball skills, has to develop in the core, that will happen through fundamentals, but it will happen through the growth on his frame."

University of Tennessee Athletics

Players Mentioned

Kaleb Beasley

Boo Carter

Cole Harrison

Nico Iamaleava

Gabe Jeudy-Lally

Peyton Lewis

Mike Matthews

Jermod McCoy

Jake Merklinger

Keenan Pili

Jordan Ross

Edwin Spillman

Holden Staes

Jakobe Thomas

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