National Signing Day 2010: Tennessee Vols Update, 10AM

It’s 10 a.m., the Vols are off to a great start on National Signing Day. 

The No. 1 Kicker in the nation according to Scout, Michael Palardy, was the first to sign his letter of intent this morning. 

He was followed by two three-star offensive linemen, Zach Fulton and Marques Pair. 

Tyrone, Ga., running back Rajion Neal was next. Neal is a four-star prospect, according to Rivals.com. 

DB’s Dontavious Sapp, Dave Clark, and Marques Dixon all sent in their signed letters shortly thereafter. 

A three-star athlete, Dixon was somewhat of a surprise for me, as he was considered a soft verbal and had taken a visit to Miami recently.

Safety Eddrick Loften, from Irving, Tex., kept his word to Tennessee one week after visiting Southern Cal, scaring many Vol-niacs. 

Three-star Linebacker John Propst, a former West Virginia commit, has signed as well. Propst is from Hoover, Ala. 

The sneakiest commit/signing of the day was two-star LB Raiques Crump from Alabama. Crump is an Eagle Scout who dreamed of playing SEC football. He was officially offered a scholarship when Ralph Williams de-committed from Tennessee in favor of Ole Miss. 

The biggest addition of the day so far is five-star WR Da’Rick Rogers from Calhoun, Ga. Rogers had been a Georgia commitment since the summer, but recently visited Knoxville two weekends in a row after his best friend, QB Nash Nance, committed to the Vols. 

Rogers is ranked as the No. 9 overall recruit in the nation. He is considered the No. 2 wide receiver in the country. As big as his signing with the Vols is, the fact that he was taken from Mark Richt and Georgia makes this the biggest signing of the Vols' 2010 class. 

Nance also signed today. 

Including the eight midterm enrollees, the Vols have 20 signed letters of intent at this point. They are expected to sign up to 28 recruits in this class. 

Of course, the news has not all been great. 

Markeith Ambles chose to go to Southern California. This should not be considered a shock or surprise by any stretch of the imagination. Ambles was all about Kiffin, and Kiffin was all about him from the start. 

The worst surprise of the day so far is DE J.C. Copeland. The big defensive lineman had been committed to Tennessee since the summer. He recently visited LSU. After that visit, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Vols. So it was quite a shock when he sent his signed letter of intent to the Tigers early this morning. 

More updates to follow! 

 

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