Tennessee football recruiting class 2023: Meet the Vols' early signees
Tennessee football is hoping to secure its first top 10 signing class since 2015 as the early signing period begins.
More than half the job is already done, as 14 signees already have enrolled and joined the Vols in practice for the Orange Bowl. Five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, four-star edge rusher Caleb Herring and four-star linebacker Arion Carter are among them.
Iamaleava is the No. 4 player in the 2023 class, as ranked by 247Sports Composite. Herring, from Riverdale, and Carter, from Smyrna, are the top two players in Tennessee.
VOLS' TOP 10 RECRUITS IN 2000sHow Tennessee best signees before Nico Iamaleava panned out
This is a critical class for the Vols.
On the field, they turned the corner with their first 10-win regular season since 2003. Off the field, second-year coach Josh Heupel has capitalized by landing top-tier talent via recruiting to try to keep the momentum going.
The 2015 class under Butch Jones was Tennessee’s last to be ranked in the top 10, according to 247Sports Composite.
Here are the players who have signed in Tennessee’s 2023 class so far.
Edge rusher Chandavian Bradley
Hometown/School: Platte City, Missouri (Platte County)
Vitals: 6-4, 209 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 71; position ranking: No. 10.
RB DeSean Bishop
Hometown/School: Knoxville (Karns)
Vitals: 5-10, 196 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 1,252; position ranking: No. 84.
OL Ayden Bussell
Hometown/School: Mt. Juliet (Mt. Juliet)
Vitals: 6-5, 287 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 826; position ranking: No. 61.
LB Arion Carter
Hometown/School: Smyrna, Tennessee (Smyrna)
Vitals: 6-1, 215 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 158; position ranking: No. 13.
CB Cristian Conyer
Hometown/School: Bowling Green, Kentucky (South Warren)
Vitals: 6-1, 170 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 552; position ranking: No. 56.
TE Ethan Davis
Hometown/School: Suwanee, Georgia (Collins Hill)
Vitals: 6-5, 221 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 126; position ranking: No. 6.
DL Trevor Duncan
Hometown/School: Knoxville, Tennessee (Knox Catholic)
Vitals: 6-5, 277 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 702; position ranking: No. 50.
CB Rickey Gibson III
Hometown/School: Trussville, Alabama (Hewitt-Trussville)
Vitals: 6-0, 171 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 293; position ranking: No. 32.
PK Max Gilbert
Hometown/School: Memphis, Tennessee (Lausanne)
Vitals: 6-1, 185 pounds
247Sports Composite: N/A; national ranking: N/A; position ranking: N/A.
Edge rusher Caleb Herring
Hometown/School: Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Riverdale)
Vitals: 6-5, 206 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 75; position ranking: No. 12.
DL Daevin Hobbs
Hometown/School: Concord, North Carolina (Jay M. Robinson)
Vitals: 6-4, 277 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 51; position ranking: No. 4.
QB Nico Iamaleava
Hometown/School: Downey, California (Warren)
Vitals: 6-5, 195 pounds
247Sports Composite: five stars; national ranking: No. 4; position ranking: No. 3.
OL Larry Johnson III
Hometown/School: Savannah, Georgia (Hutchinson Comm. College)
Vitals: 6-6, 340 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 13 (juco); position ranking: No. 3 (juco).
RB Khalifa Keith
Hometown/School: Birmingham, Alabama (Parker)
Vitals: 6-0, 235 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 583; position ranking: No. 40.
OL Vysen Lang
Hometown/School: Pike Road, Alabama (Pike Road)
Vitals: 6-4, 335 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 808; position ranking: No. 66.
WR Nathan Leacock
Hometown/School: Raleigh, North Carolina (Millbrook)
Vitals: 6-3, 200 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 107; position ranking: No. 18.
S Jack Luttrell
Hometown/School: Moultrie, Georgia (Colquitt County)
Vitals: 6-1, 187 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 935; position ranking: No. 82.
CB Jordan Matthews
Hometown/School: Baton Rouge, Florida (Woodlawn)
Vitals: 6-1, 184 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 177; position ranking: No. 21.
DL Nathan Robinson
Hometown/School: Greenbrier, Tennessee (Greenbrier)
Vitals: 6-5, 272 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 542; position ranking: No. 52.
WR Cameron Seldon
Hometown/School: Heathsville, Virginia (Northumberland)
Vitals: 6-1, 220 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 115; position ranking: No. 5.
S John Slaughter
Hometown/School: Southaven, Mississippi (Southaven)
Vitals: 6-1, 194 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 583; position ranking: No. 53.
LB Jalen Smith
Hometown/School: Loganville, Georgia (Grayson)
Vitals: 6-0, 213 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 408; position ranking: No. 32.
WR Nate Spillman
Hometown/School: Nashville, Tennessee (Lipscomb Academy)
Vitals: 6-1, 194 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: N/A; position ranking: No. 185.
LB Jeremiah Telander
Hometown/School: Gainesville, Georgia (Gainesville)
Vitals: 6-2, 217 pounds
247Sports Composite: three stars; national ranking: No. 727; position ranking: No. 61.
OT Shamurad Umarov
Hometown/School: Alpharetta, Georgia (Denmark)
Vitals: 6-6, 337 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 289; position ranking: No. 26.
DL Tyree Weathersby
Hometown/School: Douglasville, Georgia (New Manchester)
Vitals: 6-4, 251 pounds
247Sports Composite: four stars; national ranking: No. 312; position ranking: No. 42.
Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football recruiting class 2023: Meet Vols’ early signees
