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Impact Analysis: Lakia Henry

Tennessee’s sizzling May continued Sunday, as the Vols added another blue-chip prospect to their 2019 class.

Dodge City (Kan.) C.C. linebacker Lakia Henry committed to Tennessee over Ole Miss, Nebraska, Alabama and Texas A&M, giving Jeremy Pruitt & Co., their fourth commitment this month.

The 4-star linebacker visited Tennessee for the first time last weekend, immediately naming the Vols his leader after the trip.

Here’s a look at what Henry’s commitment means for Tennessee…

HENRY’S SCOUTING REPORT

“The kid is a guided missile in the middle, he arrives at the ball with a thump nearly every time and he has great closing speed. He needs to work on some false steps and some hesitancy in reading the play at times, but more often than not he dissects the play very well, knows which angle to take and which gap to clear and he's a sure and aggressive tackler. I also love the way he can get skinny in the hole despite being a big linebacker. He reminds me of a poor man's Reuben Foster a bit, not quite as explosive to the ball as Foster but big, covers a lot of ground and arrives quickly to the ball.”

— Mike Farrell, National Recruiting Director for Rivals.com

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HOW WILL HENRY FIT IN WITH THE VOLS

As a freshman at Dodge City, Henry recorded 110 tackles, 13.5 TFLs, 1 interception and 2.5 sacks as a middle linebacker in the Conquistadors’ 4-3 scheme. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound thumper has the ability to play multiple spots in Pruitt’s hybrid 3-4 scheme, though, very similarly to incoming freshman JJ Peterson.

Henry is a violent tackler. He can play in space, while also rush the passer.

The top JUCO linebacker said he’s best-suited as an anchor in the middle of a 4-2-5 defense, but believes his skill-set will translate to however the Vols opt to utilize the Vidalia (Ga.) native.

Henry is the exact type of athlete Pruitt is looking for to turnaround Tennessee’s defense.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR TENNESSEE?

Chalk up another big win for Pruitt, Kevin Sherrer and the rest of the staff on the recruiting trail. Former JUCO head coach Joe Osovet was key in landing Henry, too, helping seal the deal during Henry’s visit to Knoxville.

Tennessee’s new staff has shown a tremendous ability to capitalize on relationships in a very short amount of time. It happened during the close of the 2018 class (JJ Peterson, Dominick Wood-Anderson, JT Shrout, etc.) and has continued thus far in 2019.

The Vols have now landed a trio of 4-star prospects this month (Henry, Wanya Morris and Ramel Keyton) and they don't look to be slowing down anytime soon with several targets closing in on summer decisions.

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