Tennessee Wraps Up 8 Player Commitment Weekend with DT Kivon Bennett
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
Tennessee put all of college football on notice over the weekend pulling in eight total recruits during a three-day span starting on Saturday and ending on Monday with Florida defensive tackle Kivon Bennett siding with the Volunteers.
The festivities for Tennessee Nation kicked off on Saturday with athlete Trey Coleman, offensive tackle Jordan Tucker, defensive ends LaTrell Bumphus and Tre Lawson, wide receiver Princeton Fant, and safeties Jaquan Henderson and Theo Jackson committing during the Volunteers’ big recruiting weekend. The good times got a little bit better when the Vols snagged Alabama legacy Kivon Bennett out of south Florida’s St. Thomas Aquinas.
Bennett, son of Cornelius Bennett (Buffalo Bills), drew a lot of attention his way coming up with 31 stops, five sacks, and nine tackles for a loss with St. Thomas Aquinas during his junior season. A lot of the SEC teams started coming around on the 6’3”, 265 pound, lineman during the spring with Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, and Missouri offering along with teams like Nebraska, Cal, Colorado, Notre Dame, and USC. In all, Bennett had nearly 30 scholarship offers reported before his commitment to the Vols.
Volunteer fans found out about Bennett’s commitment via Twitter with the announcement reading, “After discussing everything with my family and those close to me, I have decided to commit to Tennessee. #EL17E.”
Tennessee jumped their 2017 class from 10 commits to 18 in a hurry. The class is fairly balanced with 10 players expected to line-up on defense once on campus. As Tennessee works their way towards a full class, look for at least three more offensive lineman and perhaps a quarterback of the future.
Tennessee Volunteers 2017 Verbal Commitment List (18)
CB Cheyenne Labruzza, 5-11, 186, Albany HS, Albany, LA
SS Maleik Gray, 6-2, 205, LaVergne HS, LaVergne, TN
SS Jaquan Henderson, 6-1, 205, Newton HS, Covington, GA
SS Theo Jackson, 6-2, 176, Overton HS, Nashville, TN
LB De’Morreal “Mo” Burnam, 6-3, 218, Salem HS, Conyers, GA
LB Solon Page III, 6-1.5, 192, Kell HS, Marietta, GA
DE LaTrell Bumphus, 6-3.5, 232, Hardin County, Savannah, TN
DE Tre Lawson, 6-6, 247, North Augusta HS, North Augusta, SC
DT Kivon Bennett, 6-3, 265, St. Thomas Aquinas HS, Fort Lauderdale, FL
DT Eric Crosby, 6-1, 285, Ocean Lakes HS, Virginia Beach, VA
OT Jordan Tucker, 6-7, 335, Roswell HS, Roswell, GA
TE Chase Rogers, 6-2.5, 230, St. Stanislaus HS, Bay St. Louis, MS
WR/OLB Marquez Bembry, 6-3, 214, Mount Vernon Presbyterian, Atlanta, GA
WR Princeton Fant, 6-2, 208, LaVergne HS, LaVergne, TN
WR Jacquez Jones, 5-11, 165, Clearwater HS, Clearwater, FL
WR KD Nixon, 5-8, 182, DeSoto HS, DeSoto, TX
ATH Trey Coleman, 5-11, 203, West Monroe HS, West Monroe, LA
K Brent Cimaglia, 6-0, 215, Fred J Page HS, Franklin, TN
Photo credit: scout.com; No. 95 Kivon Bennett post-game.