One of the top dual-threat quarterbacks in the 2021 recruiting cycle has Tennessee as one of his favorite teams moving forward in his recruitment.
Kaidon Salter, a four-star quarterback from Cedar Hill, Texas, tweeted out his list of top 11 schools on Saturday, and the Vols made the cut along with Auburn, Baylor, Michigan State, Kansas, Arkansas, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Utah, Ole Miss, and UCLA.
Blessed!! #Top11 pic.twitter.com/yAeYHaUGwz
— ksalt (@KaidonSalter_7) April 4, 2020
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, the 6-foot-1, 185-pound quarterback is the No. 244 overall prospect and No. 10 dual-threat QB in the 2021 class. The regular 247Sports rankings view him as an elite quarterback, ranking him No. 89 overall and as the fourth-best dual-threat quarterback in the 2021 cycle.
Tennessee extended an offer to Salter back on January 21st of this year. He’s since added offers from Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Utah, Arkansas, South Carolina, UCLA, Auburn, and Michigan State among others since then. The Vols were one of the first Power Five programs outside of the state of Texas to offer Salter.
The Vols were lucky in that they got Salter’s final visit before the COVID-19 outbreak shut down recruiting visits for the foreseeable future. Salter attended Tennessee’s second day of spring practice on Thursday, March 12th, capping off a week of visits for the four-star signal caller. On Monday of that week, Salter visited Florida State, saw Auburn and Georgia Tech on Tuesday, visited South Carolina and Louisville on Wednesday, then saw the Vols before recruiting visits on and off campuses were stopped.
Salter has a great deal of skill as both a passer and a runner. He can launch the ball down the field with accuracy, and he has good zip on his passes. Salter moves really well in the pocket and has good awareness. As a runner, he’s smooth and glides down the field as he picks up yards. He has decent burst and is shifty enough to escape defenders.
As a junior last season, Salter was named the District 7-6A MVP as he led Cedar Hill to the second round of the 6A D-II playoffs. Salter completed 60.8 percent of his 245 pass attempts for 2,550 yards, 28 touchdowns, and just six interceptions as a junior while also running for 616 yards and 10 scores on 100 carries.
Tennessee does not currently have a quarterback committed to them in their 2021 class, but the Vols are targeting several in the cycle. Four-star Miller Moss and four-star Christian Veilleux are some of the Vols’ other top quarterback targets in the 2021 cycle.
As of right now, the Vols have five scholarship quarterbacks on their roster with a notable walk-on with the group as well. Redshirt senior Jarrett Guarantano, redshirt sophomore JT Shrout, sophomore Brian Maurer, and freshmen Harrison Bailey and Jimmy Holiday comprise the group, and former Maryland starter and current walk-on Kasim Hill is also in the mix.
