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Tennessee Football: 3 Early Signees Who’ll Have an Instant Impact

By Jackson Caudell

Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel reacts to a call in overtime at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue
Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel reacts to a call in overtime at the 2021 Music City Bowl NCAA college football game at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn. on Thursday, Dec. 30, 2021.Kns Tennessee Purdue /
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Tennessee Football outperformed expectations on the field and on the recruiting trail this season. Who are some early signees who can help the Volunteers in 2022?

Last offseason was a mess for Tennessee Football. The Volunteers did not have high expectations heading into 2021 with new head coach Josh Heupel. However, with an explosive offense and exciting big plays, Tennessee managed to go 7-6. Considering the expectations that were placed on the program after the firing of Jeremy Pruitt, that was fine with Tennessee fans.

Heupel is not known for his recruiting, but he was able to pull in a top 15 class for Tennessee. While there are no five-star prospects coming to Knoxville next fall, Heupel did a nice job of adding quality talent. What is a good sign for the Volunteers is that they were able to sign eight prospects from the state of Georgia. While they are not the top prospects from the state, if Tennessee is ever to return to winning SEC championships, they are going to have to do well recruiting in that state.

It was clear to see where the priorities were for Tennessee in this recruiting cycle. The Volunteers looked at the line of scrimmage and decided that they needed to get better and they got the numbers to be. Tennessee got four offensive linemen and four defensive linemen each. The Volunteers also looked at the wide receiver position and took four guys as well. There are going to be expectations of improvement that Heupel is going to have to meet after this season.

Here are the three early signees that will have an instant impact for Tennessee Football in 2022.

3. Joshua Josephs (Edge)

For as exciting as their offense was this season, their defense was the exact opposite. Tennessee did nothing well on that side of the ball and cost them some games. One way that they are hoping to have a quick fix on defense is to get some impact players on the defensive line. One guy they are hoping can give them that is Joshua Josephs.

Josephs is a 6-3/215 LBS edge rusher from North Cobb, Georgia and he projects well to be a starter at the SEC level. He is going to have to add to his frame and get bigger and stronger this offseason, but the athletic traits and explosiveness are already there for the talented defensive end. Josephs has the versatility that teams covet and that is why he will be an instant impact player for Tennessee in 2022.

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