Even during a pandemic … college football rolls along.

The season isn’t complete yet, but the Early Signing Period dates did not change. This put recruits in a really tough situation because there might be more coaching moves than normal in the days to come.

At Tennessee, Jeremy Pruitt has been working to keep his class together despite his job being bantered about as one that might be in jeopardy. There have been defections. There have been players that recommitted. The faxes are in … and here, in no particular order, are my 5 takeaways from Day 1 of the Early Signing Period.

1. Top recruits leaving the state

Those who know recruiting a heck of a lot better than I maintain that the in-state Class of 2022 in Tennessee is going to have a lot more volume than what we’ve seen for the Class of 2021. But the numbers committing to Tennessee are troubling.

Tennessee secured only 1 of the top 10 recruits in the state in this cycle, Walker Merrill (more on him in a moment).  Pearl-Cohn offensive tackle William Parker is a signee who recently fell out of the top 10, dropping from 7th to 11th.

The Vols have gotten used to Clemson coming in and grabbing Tennessee kids since Oak Ridge’s Tee Higgins and Knoxville Catholic’s Amari Rodgers in the Class of 2017. And this year, the Tigers took the No. 1 (Ravenwood tight end Jake Briningstool) and No. 4 (Evangelical Christian offensive guard Dietrick Pennington) players from the Volunteer state. But Notre Dame, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio State and Georgia also took talent away.

Yes, Tennessee is a tough state to recruit in part because of geography. Also, this was a weird year due to severe limitations for in-person contact. But these numbers must be concerning, because it isn’t like the Vols are killing it nationally to make up for local disappointments.

2. Quarterback of the future secured

Cedar Springs (Texas) quarterback Kaidon Salter has the tools to help Tennessee succeed. And that’s a good thing, because the position has been a mess since Josh Dobbs took his right arm, quick feet and aerospace engineering brain to the NFL.

Salter is the 6th-ranked dual-threat signal caller in the country. He chose the Vols over Auburn and Ole Miss, among others. The decision to turn down Auburn in particular looks better by the day for Salter after the firing of Gus Malzahn. Yes, at least for the moment, Tennessee has a more stable coaching situation than Auburn.

Harrison Bailey looked good against winless Vandy, but the jury is still out on whether he can be the Vols’ leader heading into 2021. Tennessee hopes that having Salter in place will give them some more options.

3. Lack of buzz on #VolTwitter

In years past, Tennessee’s beloved and borderline insane #VolTwitter was loud and proud on National Signing Day … and since 2017, on the 1st day of the Early Signing Period. My timeline would be filled with comments, conspiracies, heartache, joy and endless trash talk toward other SEC fan bases.

This year? My timeline was church mouse quiet. Much of the silence has to do with Tennessee’s lackluster season. And there wasn’t a 5-star recruit in this class, nor a late high-profile flip that got the energy level up.

No matter the reason, apathy is a dangerous thing for a football program. Fans who aren’t jazzed about the direction of a program don’t always renew their season tickets or keep their donation levels at an expected standard.

Just something to keep an eye on going forward.

4. Recruiting in Alabama

Recruiting in the state of Alabama and competing against Alabama and Auburn is not the easiest thing to do. The Vols were on track to get 4 kids from that state in this class, with the biggest fish being 4-star defensive end Dylan Brooks from Roanoke. He still hasn’t signed and now it appears it’ll take some magic to get him to Knoxville.

5. Sleeper in this class?

Look no further than the lone top-10 in-state signee, Brentwood’s Merrill. He helped his team earn a spot in the Class 6A title game and had 1,173 receiving yards and 8 touchdown catches.

Tennessee has speed in spades in their receiving corps, but Merrill’s exceptional route-running, athleticism and versatility give them a new weapon to use.

Merrill has been compared to another mid-state kid, former Vol receiver Zach Rogers, who was a major contributor to Tennessee’s prolific 2012 offense. If Merrill can make a similar impact, this is a really nice get. Also, Merrill has been committed for 9 months, and while others wavered, he has completely been on board.