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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee football program added a 14th member to its 2018 Early Signing Class on Wednesday after one of the nation's top junior college recruits, Jahmir Johnson , announced he will join the Vols next year. Johnson signed his National Letter of Intent (NLI) last week during the Early Signing Period, but waited to announce his decision until he was with family during the holiday season.

UT will add several more Vols during the traditional National Signing Day on Feb. 7.

Johnson starred at Arizona Western College where he captured NJCAA First Team All-America honors in 2017. He was rated a four-star recruit and the nation's No. 2 junior college offensive tackle prospect.

A Philadelphia, Pa., native, Johnson started his career at Rhode Island, where he redshirted in 2016, before transferring and excelling at Arizona Western this past fall.

Johnson's signing gives the Vols and head coach Jeremy Pruitt three junior college players as a part of the 2018 class. He joins Arizona Western teammate Dominick Wood-Anderson , the nation's top JUCO tight end, and four-star linebacker prospect Jordan Allen of City College of San Francisco.

Overall, the 14-member Big Orange early signing class features eight members from the state of Tennessee, three Californians, one player from Pennsylvania, one player from Florida and one South Carolina native.

Seven of the newest Vols have been selected for postseason high school all-star games, including U.S. Army All-American Bowl participant Greg Emerson , a defensive end, and Under Armour All-America Game selections Paxton Brooks , the nation's No. 2 punter, and Alontae Taylor , one of the nation's Top 50 recruits according to ESPN.

"We are very excited to welcome this group of outstanding young men who signed with us today," Pruitt said on the first day of the early signing period on Dec. 20. "They are terrific football players, who also display exceptional character off the field. We appreciate the commitment they have made to the University of Tennessee. They will be the foundation for our first signing class here. We said we were going to build a fence around the state and this is a good start. We also know that Tennessee is a national brand, and it's exciting that some of these players from across the country will be wearing the 'T' on their helmets. We hope to have a few more guys sign these next two days, too.

"We know we still have a lot of work to do on the recruiting trail, as we will sign several more players in February, but today is a great way to begin. We will get back to work when I return in January. I want to thank Vol Nation for all of the support these first two weeks on the job. I am honored and humbled to be your head coach, and I'm looking forward to devoting all of my time to our football team following the College Football Playoff."

The Vols have signed five of the state of Tennessee's Top 10 football recruits, according to Rivals, with Cordova High School teammates Jerome Carvin (No. 8) and Jeremy Banks (No. 9), and 2017 Tennessee Titans District II-A Mr. Football Brant Lawless (No. 10) joining Taylor (No. 4) and Emerson (No. 3).

Tennessee announced the signing of Allen, ESPN's No. 9 JUCO recruit, last Thursday, and Taylor inked to the Vols on Friday.

Tennessee inked 11 newcomers on Day 1 of the Early Signing Period on Wednesday, Dec. 20.

The class also features a pair of Knoxville area stars in Gibbs offensive lineman Ollie Lane and Farragut tight end Jacob Warren .

California quarterback JT Shrout rocketed up recruiting boards this season and is ranked as the No. 14 pro-style quarterback in the nation.

Additionally, the Vols signed one of the Nashville area's top recruits in offensive lineman Tanner Antonutti and national prep powerhouse IMG Academy defensive lineman Kingston Harris .

After being named head coach on Dec. 7, Pruitt had just 10 days to put together a signing class before the dead period began on Dec. 18, limiting contact with recruits. Pruitt, who was named 247Sports Recruiter of the Year in 2012, and members of his coaching staff worked tirelessly to secure the Early Signing Period class.



