Recruiting starts early, even before players get to high school in some cases.

That was the situation on Saturday at Tennessee, as 2023 ATH Tony Mitchell, who has yet to play a single down of high school football, announced his verbal commitment to the Vols.

As you can see below, Mitchell, who will attend Thompson High School in Alabama this fall, announced his decision via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/DatGuyTM/status/1137421105147392008

Obviously, since he hasn’t played any high school football yet, Mitchell has yet to be rated by the major recruiting services. He is the first player in Tennessee’s 2023 class.

Of course, there’s a long way to go before this verbal commitment becomes anything serious, but it is certainly an interesting move for Mitchell and the Vols.