If recruiting rankings hold true, Tennessee should be loaded at quarterback for the foreseeable future.

Rising junior Erik Ainge and freshman Jonathan Crompton will battle for playing time this spring. Then, Nick Stephens from Flower Mound (Texas) High School will enter the picture.

Stephens is considered one of the top-20 quarterback prospects in the nation, as was Ainge in 2004. In 2005, Crompton was considered one of the top two or three.

The competition, however, didn’t scare off Stephens.

"It’s going to make me better and make them better," the 6-foot-4, 210-pound Stephens told the News Sentinel on Tuesday, a day after picking UT over Michigan and Ole Miss. "I’ll go in with a fair shot to compete. Depending on how I do, I will decide whether I redshirt or not."

Stephens seems to have the same approach that Crompton had a year ago. Crompton was undeterred as he followed two highly touted freshmen from 2004: Ainge and departed quarterback Brent Schaeffer.

"Every kid’s goal is to grow up and play in the big game," Stephens said. "That’s mine. I want to go in and make a big impact whether I redshirt at first or not. I’ll go in there and push Erik and Crompton and see what happens.

"If I get playing time it’s because I worked at it, nothing else. I’m going to work my butt off and see what happens."

Stephens said he’s excited about playing with UT’s younger players, who were, like the quarterbacks, highly ranked by recruiting services.

"I’ll be playing around some great talent," Stephens said. "They had one of the top recruiting classes the past two years. A lot of those guys redshirted. They’ll have great receivers that I’ll be around."

O-Line Talk: UT’s coaches had to be disappointed — but not surprised — that Antwan Logan-El picked Penn State over the Vols during a press conference Tuesday.

The 6-5, 315-pounder from Forestville (Md.) High had sent various signals that he was likely to stay close to home and choose the Nittany Lions or Maryland, where he originally committed.

The disappointment is offset by the commitment of 6-5, 330-pound Jarrod Shaw of Northside High in Lafayette, La., on Monday.

Ramone Johnson of Morgan Park High in Chicago is one of the linemen that UT’s coaches will keep a close eye on before National Signing Day on Feb. 1. The 6-4, 300-pounder is considering UT and Illinois.

Sheppard-ing: UT and LSU are making their last push to land Kelvin Sheppard, a 6-2, 220-pound linebacker from Stephenson High in Stone Mountain, Ga.

UT defensive coordinator John Chavis was scheduled to watch Sheppard’s high school basketball game on Tuesday night. LSU coach Les Miles is scheduled to visit Sheppard’s home Wednesday night.

Sheppard is committed to LSU but has been considering UT lately. Sheppard’s teammate, Perry Riley, will likely choose the same school as Sheppard. Riley, who is 6-1 and 205 pounds, also plays linebacker.

Dave Hooker covers recruiting. He may be reached at hookerd@knews.com.