Tennessee’s 2020 class is already off to a solid start, and they picked up a commitment on Saturday from four-star lineman Dominic Bailey. On the same day, one of the top defensive backs in the cycle included the Vols among his list of top teams moving forward.
Henry Gray is an elite defensive back in the 2020 class out of Hollywood, Florida. He plays for Miami Central, and he just released his list of the top eight schools in his recruitment. The Vols made the cut along with some premier programs in college football.
Top 8‼️‼️‼️ pic.twitter.com/TaUhJ9HOJ2
— Goated?? (@D1bound_zay2121) February 16, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Gray is the No. 51 overall player and No. 4 cornerback in the 2020 cycle. He’s also listed as the sixth-best player in the state of Florida. He already holds offers from all eight programs in his list of top teams and also has offers from Miami, Florida State, Michigan, Texas A&M, and others.
Gray was once committed to Miami, pledging himself to the Hurricanes back on March 31st of 2018. But he decommitted from them in December and now doesn’t have them included in his list of top schools despite attending a Junior Day event on their campus two weeks ago. The Vols offered Gray while he was still a Miami commit, giving him an offer back in July.
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound defensive back was named one of the top performers at a recent Under Armour area camp in Orlando.
As a junior, Gray played multiple positions for Miami Central. On defense, he played primarily at cornerback, but he also lined up as a safety and might actually project better there. Gray doesn’t have blazing fast speed, but he’s quick enough to engage a receiver down field and make good breaks on the ball. He’s good at anticipating what the quarterback and receiver are going to do. Gray displays quality vision, and he’s not afraid to get physical.
So far, Gray hasn’t taken a visit to Tennessee, but there’s a good chance that changes as the 2020 cycle heats up.
Right now, the Vols don’t have any defensive backs committed to them in their 2020 class. Tennessee brought in a number of projected cornerbacks and safeties in their 2019 class, so it doesn’t figure to be quite as big of a need in the 2020 cycle. But Gray is the type of athlete that any program would take regardless of need.
