Butch Jones landed his best get for the Tennessee Volunteers yet, as top recruit Marquez North will join him in Knoxville, officially signing early Wednesday morning.
Marquez North signs with Tennessee over North Carolina
Marquez North is the No. 2 wide receiver recruit in the country per some services, meaning he’ll be key as Tennessee looks to replace a pair of big playmakers at the wideout position. He’s one of three four-star wide receiver recruits in the Vols’ class.
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The Charlotte native had offers from 21 schools, including Georgia, Michigan and Oregon, and had taken visits to Florida and Ohio State, but it came down to his final two: his home state school of North Carolina and the Volunteers. Last week, the consensus four-star recruit canceled an in-home visit with North Carolina coach Larry Fedora, telling the coach not to bother, he’d be committing to Tennessee.
North is a 6’3, 212-pounder with speed -- Rocky Top Talk writes that he’s recorded as running a 4.41 40. That’s a tough combination to find, which is why Rivals has ranked No. 2 in the nation among wide receivers and No. 37 among all players. Other services are a little less optimistic -- Scout considers him the No. 12 receiver in the country, ESPN even lower at No. 18 -- but both consider him to be one of the better prospects at the position in the nation.
The Vols will have to completely restructure their passing game, with three pro prospects out the door. Tyler Bray left the school a year early for the NFL Draft, and the team's top two receivers -- Justin Hunter and Cordarrelle Patterson -- are gone as well, Patterson spending just one year with Tennessee after transferring in from a junior college.
They might have the tools to pull it off. North picked the Vols in part because of fellow Charlotte native and four-star quarterback prospect Riley Ferguson, and he joins two other four-star wide receivers coming in at wide receiver in Paul Harris and Ryan Jenkins. But, of the three, North is easily considered the best get for Tennessee.
Twitter: North tweets at @Numero8_thebest
Recruitment timeline: North committed to the Volunteers Jan. 30 after debating between North Carolina and Tennessee, with some competition from Clemson and Florida.
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