Tennessee Football: 3 instant impact signees from 2020 class

Tennessee football signed one of the top 10 recruiting classes in the country for 2020 and there are a handful of kids who could have an instant impact.

Jeremy Pruitt’s 2019 season was a head-scratching one. The second-year head coach for the Volunteers got off to a sluggish start to the year with losses to Georgia State and BYU at home, falling to 0-2.

After that, the Volunteers dropped to 1-4 with losses to Florida and Georgia before finishing the season with an 8-5 mark, winning seven of their final eight games, including the Gator Bowl.

This turnaround midway through the year was huge for the program and likely saved Pruitt’s job. And now the head coach is bringing in the No. 10 recruiting class in the country which just happens to be No. 7 in the SEC. This is how Tennessee feels as if it should be recruiting on a regular basis and it could shrink the talent gap with the Vols and the top of the SEC.

Which 2020 signees could have an immediate impact for the Volunteers?

Tennessee reeled a big fish on National Signing Day, flipping four-star wide out Malachi Wideman from Florida State. This was especially impressive seeing as Wideman is from the state of Florida and had been committed to the Seminoles since the summer. Jeremy Pruitt put in the work and landed the Venice, Fla., native.

Wideman is an incredible athlete and becomes the Volunteers’ highest-ranked receiver signee. He is listed as the No. 116 overall prospect in the nation as well as the 22nd-best wide out, according to 247Sports.

And his size is more than enticing, especially for an offense that needs to replace Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway. In fact, he stands 6-foot-4.5 and weighs in at about 200 pounds, making him one heck of a red-zone threat and a guy who Jarrett Guarantano, or whoever starts at quarterback, can just throw a 50-50 ball to and expect him to come down with it.

Expect Wideman to see the field early on for the Volunteers.