Tennessee Football: Malachi Wideman gives Vols future No. 1 target

Flipping Malachi Wideman from Florida State was huge for Jeremy Pruitt and Tennessee football as he’s a future No. 1 target for the Vols.

Jeremy Pruitt has been on fire lately. For a guy who saw his seat heat up to a scorching-hot level at the beginning of the 2019 season, he has turned things around in a hurry.

On National Signing Day, he made one of the biggest flips as he landed Venice, Fla., native Malachi Wideman, pulling him from Florida State where he had been committed for months. Many believed his commitment was soft because of the Willie Taggart departure, but Oregon and Ole Miss were also making a strong push.

Wideman chose Tennessee on signing day, giving the Volunteers their highest-rated receiver signee of the class and a future No. 1 target.

If you haven’t seen Wideman’s highlight reel, let me help you out:

The four-star receiver has incredible size at 6-foot-4.5 and 197 pounds and looks like a kid who can catch just about everything throws his way. And he’s not just a possession guy. He can catch screens and turn them into 60-yard touchdowns or he can snag a pass in traffic for crucial first downs.

Tennessee needs a guy who can just go up and get the ball and be that go-to target for years to come and that’s what it just got in Wideman, the No. 116 recruit in the class according to 247Sports.

Florida State has to be feeling blue after losing him to Tennessee because he has true No. 1 potential but the Volunteers now have a guy who incoming four-star top-100 quarterback Harrison Bailey can get the ball to.

Wideman will be that dude for a few years and don’t be surprised if he’s on an All-SEC team by his sophomore year in Knoxville.