On Thursday, I changed my Crystal Ball prediction from Georgia to Tennessee. The Vols have been trending for a while now. Late in the summer, Tennessee was trailing several other programs but the efforts of Tommy Thigpen and Butch Jones got the Vols back on track. A promising season has helped build on that momentum and as Tennessees recruiting class continues to pile up highly-touted prospects (currently sitting at No. 2 in the 247Sports rankings) the excitement is only growing.
Tennessee does have serious competition for Malone though and at this point in the process, Florida State looks to be its top contender. The Seminoles have everything Malone is looking for with a pro-style offense, a track record getting players to the NFL, a history of quarterback success, a current quarterback that will overlap with Malone and even a friend on the roster in fellow middle Tennessee native Jalen Ramsey.
What Florida State is missing though is proximity. Due to Malones tight relationship with his family, that missing factor is big. If Malone is able to develop a better comfort level with the distance of Tallahassee before his commitment then Florida State suddenly becomes the clear team to beat. If not, things boil down to Tennessee and Georgia and were hearing that Tennessee has taken the lead in that battle.