Vols Sign Eight Mid-Term Football Enrollees

     University of Tennessee classes have resumed and eight football student-athletes have gained admittance and will participate in spring practice.
    In addition to junior college transfer Matt Simms, the Vols signed seven high school graduates: Tyler Bray, Channing Fugate, Ja’Wuan James, Ted Meline, Corey Miller, Matthew Milton and Jacques Smith.
That group brings the number of high school graduates that have enrolled mid-term for the Volunteers to 27. Last season, Tennessee had two mid-term high school graduates join the squad in January.
Spring drills are scheduled to begin March 2, but that is tentative.
Tyler Bray, a Quarterback from Kingsburg, Calif. (Kingsburg), is ranked at the No. 7 pro-style quarterback and No. 119 prospect in the nation by Rivals.com.
He is rated the number 18 overall prospect in California by Rivals.com, earned No. 25 overall quarterback by Scout.com, he is the Valley League Offensive Player of the Year as a senior and league Most Valuable Player and was named sophomore and junior of the year for the Valley League in 2007 and 2008.
   Bray is the second on Valley Section career passing list with more than 8,000 yards. He passed for 3,321 yards as a senior while adding 171 yards on the ground, as a junior in 2008 he threw for 2,411 yards and 26 touchdowns. As a sophomore in 2007, he completed 99 passes for 1,784 yards and as a freshman in 2006 he threw for 1,100 yards.
   He practiced with the Vols during mid-December lead in to Chick-fil-A Bowl, led Kingsburg to a perfect 13-0 season and Valley championship as a senior.
   He is also a standout on the basketball court while averaging nearly 20 points and nine rebounds as a junior.
Bray also competed in baseball for Kingsburg and finished his junior season batting .455 with one home run and 20 RBIs. He also finished with a 2-1 record on the mount with a 4.94 ERA and 32 strikeouts.
    Fugate is an athlete from Jackson, Ky. (Breathitt County), is rated No. 68 athlete in the nation and No. 3 overall prospect in Kentucky by Rivals.com and No. 6 overall fullback by Scout.com.
He finished his senior season with 1,331 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns and the highlight of 2009 was rushing for 141 yards and four touchdowns to go with one receiving TD against Powell County.
    Fugate rushed for 3,052 years and 36 touchdowns as a junior and during sophomore season, rushed for 1,727 yards and 30 touchdowns. He also added 45 catches that year for 625 yards and five scores.
He practiced with Vols during the mid-December lead in to Chick-fil-A Bowl and sparked Breathitt County to a Class AAA state runner-up finish as a junior.
    James is an offensive lineman from Suwanee, Ga. (North Gwinnett), is rated as the No. 24 offensive tackle and No. 55 player in the nation by Rivals.com and the No. 55 player in the nation by Rivals.com.
    He is also rated as the No. 11 prospect in Georgia by Rivals.com and rated as the No. 13 offensive tackles by Scout.com.
James was selected to play in the Under Armour All-American Game and named to the Atlanta Journal Constitution Top-50 list as No. 18 overall player in Georgia.
    He helped lead North Gwinnett to 13-1 mark this season as a senior and the team earned the Region 7-5A champion and advanced to state quarterfinals. His junior season led to berth in state quarterfinals behind 10-3 finish and his sophomore campaign of 2007 saw North Gwinnett advance to state championship final with 13-2 record.
    Meline is a wide receiver from Miami, Fla. (North Miami Senior), is rated as the No. 42 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 43 prospect in Florida by Rivals.com and ranked as the No. 73 wide receiver in the national by Scout.com.
    He was invited to participate in the 2010 Offense-Defense All-American Bowl in Myrtle Beach, S.C. and earned All-Broward County honors in 2008 for 4-7 team after averaging 18 yards per catch.
    Meline appeared in only five games as a senior for North Miami Senior High School, finished with 487 receiving yards and 32.2 per catch, as well as averaging 15 yards per rushing attempt while battling injuries.
    He played his junior season at Westlake in Davie, Fla.
    Miller is a defensive lineman from Wellford, S.C. (Byrnes) and is ranked as the No. 3 weakside defensive end, the No. 66 overall prospect in the nation and the No. 2 prospect in South Carolina by Rivals.com. He is also ranked as the No. 10 overall defensive end by Scout.com.
    He was selected to play in the U.S. Army All-American Game, participated in the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas as a seniors and was named Class 4A All-State first-team as a senior.
    Miller received All-Area, All-Region and second-team All-State honors as a junior and was named USA Today Pre-Season All-America as a senior.
    As a senior he totaled 146 tackles and 18 sacks, tallied 119 tackles, 19 tackles-for-loss and 34 quarterback hurries and eight sacks as a junior. He totaled 109 tackles and four sacks as a sophomore and finished a four-year career with 388 total tackles and 38 sacks.
    Miller helped lead Byrnes to state championships during his sophomore and junior seasons with a combined overall record 29-1 and the team advanced to state runner-up finish his senior season and 13-2 record.
    He also played basketball during his freshman and sophomore seasons.
    Milton is a wide receiver from Mascoutah, Ill. (Mascoutah) and is rated as the No. 6 prospect in Illinois and the No. 45 overall wide receiver by Rivals.com; he is also ranked as the No. 20 wide receiver in the nation by Scout.com.
    He shared Small-School Football Player of the Year honors from Belleville (Ill.) News-Democrat.
    Milton finished his senior season rushing for 1,309 yards and 20 touchdowns, while catching 14 passes for 232 yards. In addition to his receiving duties, he also took direct snaps in Wildcat position.
On his first play at the position he rushed 76 yards for a touchdown against Waterloo and finished that game with 267 rushing yards and three touchdowns on just 10 carries, scoring on runs of 76, 67 and 36.
    He also rushed for 240 yards and three touchdowns against Triad and 226 yards and three TDs against Civic Memorial.
    In a playoff loss to Rochester, he rolled up 182 yards rushing with three TDs, including 67-yard run and 97-yard kickoff return. He caught 40 passes as a junior for 797 yards and nine touchdowns.
    Milton practiced with Vols during mid-December lead in to Chick-fil-A Bowl.
    Simms is a quarterback from Franklin Lake, N.J. (El Camino C.C.) and is ranked as eighth-best player in New Jersey out of Don Bosco Prep School. He also participated in U.S. Army All-American Bowl, completing 4-of-7 passes for 30 yards and was named First team All-State by Associated Press as a junior.
    He played in 10 games this season for El Camino, completing 159-of-269 (59.1 percent) passes for 2,204 yards with 17 touchdowns against only 12 interceptions and helped El Camino to its fourth consecutive league title.
    Simms played the 2008 season in Louisville, appearing in two games and completing 4-of-10 passes for 39 yards with an interception.
During his three-year career as a starter at Don Bosco Prep, he passed for more than 6,000 yards and 60 touchdowns and threw for more than 2,000 yards and 20 touchdowns as a senior, leading Don Bosco to state title and perfect 12-0 record.
    Simms threw for 118 yards and TD in state championship win over St. Peter’s, threw from 2,744 yards and 30 touchdowns during junior season as Don Bosco advanced to state title game and as a sophomore, lead team to 11-1 record and trip to finals of New Jersey Non-Public Group 4 playoffs.
He is the son for former Super Bowl-champion quarterback Phil Simms and the younger brother of Chris Simms, who currently plays for the Denver Broncos.
    Smith is a defensive lineman from Ooltewah (Ooltewah) and was named the Chattanooga Times Free Press 2009 Best of Preps City Defense Player of the Year and was Knoxville News Sentinel’s No. 1-rated prospect in Tennessee.
He was ranked the No. 5 overall weakside defensive end in the nation and No. 67 overall prospect in the nation by Rivals.com. He is also ranked as the No. 8 defensive end in the national and 36-best overall prospect by Scout.com.
    Smith participated in the 2010 U.S. Army All-American Bowl, was named first-team All-State and Class AAA lineman of the year in Tennessee as a senior and junior, was named to USA Today All-USA first team and is a two-time All-Region and Region 2 Defensive Player of the Year.
As a senior he had 79 tackles, 21 tackles-for-loss, 9.5 sacks, four forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries as a senior. As a junior he tallied 80 tackles, 28 tackles-for-loss and 13 sacks as a junior.