Martavius French De-Commits From Arkansas

Sunday afternoon, big news broke on the Volunteers’ recruiting front as one of their top in state prospects re-opened his recruitment. Four Star inside linebacker Martavius French officially decommitted from Arkansas shortly after a visit to Fayetteville for their 51-10 loss against Auburn. Here is the latest on where Tennessee stands with French, and how a potential commitment from him could help the Volunteers land 2 more top targets from the same high school.

Tennessee is currently in an outstanding spot with French, along with others from Whitehaven after their official visits to Tennessee 2 weekends ago for UT’s 43-14 loss to Georgia. The following Friday after the visit, French was sporting Tennessee gloves and cleats in their game against White Station. In a post game interview, Brandon Martin of Volunteer Roadshow asked French about not only the gear but how the visit went. French responded “They showed us love, so we have to show them love.” Judging from the recent shift in momentum, it looks like Tennessee has a very good chance to land the four star linebacker.

However, French isn’t the only top target from Whitehaven high school on Tennessee’s board. Tennessee is also in pursuit of four star linebacker Bryson Eason and current Mississippi State commit Tamarion McDonald, who also play on the Whitehaven defense. They were the other 2 players that took their official visits to Tennessee with French, and they were all sporting Tennessee gear in the game the following week as well. You probably won’t find a closer group of division 1 prospects in the entire country than this trio, as they have all played together since middle school and are very interested in the thought of continuing to play together through college. Tennessee is one of the few schools that have given them the opportunity to do so, and it should end up playing a big role in their college decision.

It is currently unknown when French or any of the other Whitehaven prospects will make a final decision. Tennessee has a major opportunity to land 3 of the states top prospects and build a pipeline to a major high school football program in Memphis, a city that they have struggled to lock down over the past decade. Landing all 3 players could turn into a “domino” effect with other in state prospects, and go a long way into truly locking down the state for the first time since Phillip Fulmer was the head coach.