Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers added to the defensive backfield Saturday afternoon, picking up the commit of 2023 safety John Slaughter. The Southaven, Miss. native has long been linked to the program and decided to make it official this weekend while in town for his visit.

Slaughter chose the Big Orange over Florida State and Ole Miss and he now becomes the 11th pledge in the Volunteers 2023 class. The 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was in Knoxville on several occasions in spring and will now be joining fellow defensive back commits in Jack Luttrell and Sylvester Smith in the class, along with other defensive pledges Caleb Herring, Nathan Robinson and Trevor Duncan.

Tennessee first offered the safety last summer. It was the second offer at the time for the three-star. Slaughter was also on campus for the Tennessee – Georgia game last fall inside Neyland Stadium.

Here’s a detailed look at what Slaughter’s commitment means for Tennessee.

“He’s an outstanding player. He’s different. Some people are just made to play ball and he’s one of them. He’s basically the complete package. He’ll come down and hit you playing in the box, but he roams. He’s the ideal safety. He’ll set you up, he’s instinctive and his ball skills are crazy.

He’s a good teammate who had a good group of seniors in front of him last year. Now, he is following that blueprint. The thing I like about what he does, he tends to take a lot of his teammates on his visits to different schools, just to give them that experience – just for motivational purposes.

He’s really just a ball player. He’s one of those guys that will always make a play. There’s always some guy that you have to watch because eventually, they are going to make some type of spectacular play – some crazy play. He’s that kid when it comes to high school football. At least once or twice a game, he’s going to make a play that’s jaw dropping to everyone who hadn’t seen it. To us, it’s just the stuff he does every day in practice.”

- Calvin Aldridge, Southaven head football coach

Slaughter is a big-bodied safety who can move well, both vertically and laterally. He’s a guy who can play both strong and free safety, but plays well over the top in a roaming role. The safety displays good vision and knowledge of when to break on the pass and accelerates well to get there for a deflection.

Because of his stature, Slaughter packs a punch when coming downhill to make contact. With that kind of force, he’s able to knock the ball loose, easily, forcing either a pass breakup or fumble. Southaven often uses him in the blitz package as well, coming off the edge to rush the quarterback in a zero coverage.

There’s a lot to like about the prospect and plenty of areas to work with at the next level.

“Tennessee likes the way I move. I’m pretty big-sized, about 6-foot-2, 200 pounds,” Slaughter told Volquest earlier this year. “So, they like the way I move and how I flip my hips. They like how quick I am at the break. Another thing is my ball skills. That’s what most coaches love about me – my ball skills.”

The prospect also stands in at wide receiver on ‘big-lay’ situations at the rep level. His ball skills, as noted above, are superb as he goes up and fights for the football to haul in receptions on the goal line. Back at his normal safety spot, he’s seen reeling in interceptions on deflections and/or on the sideline, tip-toeing his way to keep in bounds.

As a junior in 2021, the athlete logged four interceptions to go along with four touchdown receptions on offense.

Slaughter has the physical makeup to play in the Southeastern Conference, and with a good basics of safety play, the Vols will be able to fine tune those skills and get some solid play out of him over the course of the next four years.

It adds a physical player in the backend who will never shy away from contact. The commitment brings in an athletic playmaker, though still possessing a raw skillset, who can continue to develop under a collegiate strength and conditioning program. Tennessee made Slaughter a priority early on in the process and see enough in his arsenal to believe he can be a solid player wearing the Orange.

The new addition also adds another body into the fold as the Vols continue transforming their defensive backfield. Gone are the days of Alontae Taylor, Bryce Thompson and Theo Jackson in the Tennessee secondary. Trevon Flowers is entering his final year of eligibility and Jaylen McCollough will be a senior this fall, thus will be gone in 2023 if he elects not to exercise the COVID free year.

Slaughter will join a group of versatile safeties consisting of Wesley Walker, Andre Turrentine, Christian Charles, Doneiko Slaughter, Tamarion McDonald and Jourdan Thomas. The new pledge could also see some time at the STAR position and will be a welcomed addition to special teams – likely as a true freshman

With Slaughter now in the class, Tennessee has a third prospect who can play safety - going along with Luttrell and Smith. Cornerback becomes an absolute priority now and Tennessee will see how it fairs with Christian Conyer, Jordan Matthews and Jakeem Jackson- all whom are also officially visiting this weekend. Rickey Gibson, who officially visited Knoxville last weekend, is also an option.