Jalen Hurd commits to Tennessee: Butch Jones lands 5-star

Jalen Hurd, a consensus five-star athlete/running back prospect from Beech Senior High School (TN), committed Thursday to play for the Tennessee Volunteers. Hurd, ranked just after Signing Day by SB Nation as one of the 25 names to know for 2014, became the fifth member of new head coach Butch Jones' first Volunteers recruiting class.

Recently, SB Nation's Land-Grant Holy Land talked with Hurd about his recruitment:

What are the biggest factors for you in making a decision as to where you'll play your college ball?

Some of the biggest factors to me are the stability in the coaching staff and the football program.

With 5-star Jalen Hurd committing, Tennessee already has pledges from state's top two and three of top 13.

— SBN College Football (@SBNationCFB) March 14, 2013

Hurd holds offers from a bevy of elite football programs, including Florida, Alabama, Notre Dame, Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and Stanford. The 6'3, 225-pound prospect is considered one of the top 20 overall players in the class of 2014 by both Rivals and 247Sports.

Here are his junior year highlights:

Not including Hurd, 247Sports ranks Tennessee's 2014 class as the seventh-best in the country. With the addition of such a highly regarded player, the Vols will be moving up. Tennessee isn't the only SEC school off to a fast start, though -- division rivals Florida and Georgia have added some good talent early in the recruiting cycle. Over in the SEC West, Texas A&M already has 10 commitments.

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