Welcome to our weekly column, “The State of the Vols.” Here we summarize and analyze the previous week’s action while looking forward to the coming week for Vol football, basketball, and Lady Vol basketball. Check back next Monday for volume 5.

Football:  The Vols picked up a massive commitment last week in the form of 4-star receiver Marquez North. He’s rated as the No. 2 receiver in the nation and as the top player in North Carolina. North is the type of player who can make an immediate impact, and the Vols deserve a ton of credit for pulling him from his home state. Tennessee also added two preferred walk-ons to this class, 3-star QB Charlie High and 3-star kicker Andrew Gantz. For more information on High, North, and Gantz, visit our 2013 Vol Commitments page.

Signing Day is quickly approaching, and the Vols were obviously busy recruiting over the weekend. Butch Jones and the Tennessee staff hosted three official visitors in addition to several 2014 prospects. We’ll start taking a closer look at the 2014 class after signing day.

Tennessee’s final three 2013 visitors are all committed elsewhere, and considerable credit goes to Jones for getting highly rated prospects committed to other schools on campus this late in the game. E.J. Levenberry, a Florida State commitment who has shown previous interest in the Vols, had an excellent time in Knoxville. The 4-star linebacker will be difficult to flip from FSU, but the Vols have made an impressive push for him. Tennessee is very much in the running for Levenberry, but the Seminoles appear to be the leaders to sign him.

Malik Brown, a 3-star defensive end and Syracuse commit, also left Knoxville impressed. Brown visited with his father and was hosted by his former high school teammate Curt Maggitt. The Vol staff, facilities, fan support, and tradition, all impacted both Brown and his father. Again, give credit to Butch Jones for developing a relationship with him in such a short period of time. He was offered a scholarship by Jones less than two weeks ago, yet felt comfortable enough with the staff to visit UT. Brown likely won’t announce his final plans until Signing Day, but Tennessee appears to have made enough of an impression to be considered the slight favorites to sign him. The Vols could desperately use his speed on the edge, and the staff is recruiting him to play a hybrid defensive end/linebacker role.

Four-star receiver Tyler Boyd, who visited West Virginia last weekend, also made the trip to Knoxville for an official visit. He has been committed to Pittsburgh for a month, yet left his time on campus strongly considering all the Vols have to offer. He seemed exuberant about the possibility of playing for Tennessee and loved the college and Knoxville. His mother, who didn’t travel with him, wants him to play close to home and isn’t sold on the idea of him playing at Tennessee. There are differing opinions on Boyd and some think he is likely to flip, yet unless his mom changes her tune, it looks like Pittsburgh remains the slight leader. The Vols are an extremely close second and we’ll have an update on Boyd tomorrow.

With the close proximity to Signing Day, it’s unlikely Tennessee will pick up many commitments between now and then, and most of Tennessee’s top targets plan on announcing Wednesday. Good news for Vol fans: Tennessee looks to be the team to beat for 5-star safety Vonn Bell heading into Signing Day. We’ll have a full schedule of Signing Day announcements for you late Tuesday as plans finalize.

We’ll update our Vol targets page this afternoon and have a few other recruiting tidbits for you. Tuesday, we’ll predict where Tennessee’s targets sign and examine where the other classes in the SEC rank.

Basketball: It’s safe to say last week didn’t go as planned for the Vols. On the bright side, despite struggling they picked up a one point win over Vanderbilt Tuesday night. Stokes continued his improved play and grabbed a double-double (19 points, 11 rebounds), but Trae Golden injured his hamstring and was forced to exit the game. Golden didn’t play at Arkansas and the Vols fell 73-60 on the road. Tennessee is winless on the road this season, and looked rattled at times against the Razorbacks. The Vols committed 20 turnovers and never seriously threatened the Arkansas lead. Stokes continued to be a bright spot and finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Tennessee’s leading scorer, Jordan McRae, struggled last week. He scored just 13 combined points on 4-21 shooting in 67 minutes of play. The Vol staff needs to find ways to get him open without the ball and take some of the ball handling duties off his plate to free him up to score.

The Vols host Georgia Wednesday at 8 p.m. (TV: SEC Network) then play at South Carolina Sunday at 1 p.m. (Fox Sports South). Look for the Vols to beat Georgia in Thompson-Boling, but drop a close one to South Carolina on the road. The Gamecocks are a very beatable team, but until the Vols prove they can win on the road, I can’t justify picking them to do so.

Lady Vols: It was a tough week for the Lady Vols in many ways. Tennessee opened the week at home against No. 2 Notre Dame in a game they needed to win to prove they’re ready to contend for a title. The Lady Vols lost the game and lost Isabelle Harrison to a knee injury. Harrison had surgery Friday and a timetable for her return has not been set. While there’s nothing official from UT on her injury, it’s tough to envision a scenario where she returns this season.

The Lady Vols picked up a win at home Thursday evening against Mississippi State; even bigger than the win was Cierra Burdick’s return from injury. Burdick broke her hand December 31st and hadn’t seen the court this calendar year. Sunday, in Burdick’s second game back in action, Missouri picked up the upset win over the Lady Vols on an afternoon where nothing went right for Tennessee. The Lady Vols struggled to score and couldn’t stop a Missouri team that shot over 50% in the game. To complicate matters for the already injury depleted Tennessee team, Kamiko Williams (ankle) and Jasmine Jones (knee) left the game with injuries. It’s not known when they’ll be available to practice or play, but if they can’t go Thursday, Tennessee will have just seven relatively healthy players.

First up this week, Tennessee travels to LSU for a 9 p.m. game Thursday (TV: CSS). The Lady Vols return home Sunday to face Ole Miss (2 p.m. TV: CSS) in the first game of a much needed three game homestand. In losses to Notre Dame and Missouri last week, Tennessee didn’t play with the kind of consistent intensity and effort needed to win. Look for the Lady Vols  to regain some of that focus this week and go 2-0, even if Williams and Jones aren’t able to play.