It’s only been a month since 2015 National Signing Day, but the Tennessee Volunteers have already begun channeling their efforts on the 2016 class. As of now, the Vols already have six commitments in the class, ranking 11th nationally according to 247sports.com.
Head Coach Butch Jones and his staff are constantly invested in the recruiting process, contacting recruits, visiting players and offering scholarships to prospects sometimes several years before they are able to sign.
One of the main avenues of communication Jones and his coaches use is social media sites such as Twitter. Social media has played an increasingly pivotal role in collegiate football recruiting, and the 2016 class is no exception.
Four-star tight end Devante Brooks and four-star cornerback Marquill Osborne, two current commitments in Tennessee’s 2016 class, know the importance of social media in the recruiting world for coaches and players alike.
“I think it’s definitely a benefit,” said Osborne. “It works well for some schools, and it’s good for the recruiting process.”
Brooks added, “Social media allows us to interact with other players really quickly, and you can easily contact a coach or another recruit.”
Both players have been contacted by both Tennessee fans and fans of opposing schools via Twitter as well, and both have had largely positive experiences.
“I’ve had fans from Tennessee support me,” Osborne stated, “and that communication really helps in recruiting.”
But it’s not always a positive experience. While neither player has been personally attacked via social media, Brooks understands the negatives of social media.
“It can definitely be overwhelming sometimes with all the coaches messaging you and the fan base constantly mentioning you on twitter,” Brooks said. “It can be a positive and a negative, it’s just a personal preference.”
Despite those downfalls, social media continues to play a large role in recruiting, both for coaches contacting high school prospects and for those same players to recruit fellow prospects to join them at their school of choice.
Some members of the 2015 recruiting class, such as five-star defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie, used Twitter as a platform to recruit other prospects to Tennessee, mentioning them in tweets in an attempt to get them to visit the university or commit to the school. Brooks has been actively recruiting other players on Twitter since he committed to the Vols on January 15, and he says he plans to take up the mantle McKenzie left.
“I definitely want to take that role that Kahlil had,” Brooks stated. “I definitely want to try to recruit other top players. I’m trying to get the other early commits involved as well. I want this class to be as good, if not better, than the 2015 class.”
