A former state champion from the Knoxville area officially released a new top-five list on Wednesday. The list for three-star receiver Ayden Greene includes Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Virginia Tech, Mississippi State, and Arkansas.
Greene’s announcement came in the form of a post on social media.
Blessed to have this opportunity 🙏🏽 @PowellHighFB @PowellCoachLowe @RileyElite3 @_Elite3 @ChadSimmons_ @recruitgfx @RyanCallahan247 @prepxtra pic.twitter.com/th9xXJlmJg
— AYDEN GREENE! (@ayden_greene11) May 4, 2022
Vol Recruiting: Tennessee Lands Huge ETSU Transfer Lineman Austin Lewis
As a dynamic recruit in the class of 2023, Greene lists as a three-star wide receiver via 247 Sports and Rivals‘ recruiting rankings. In addition, 247 Sports’ composite rankings have Greene as the No. 52 wide receiver in the class and the No. 13 player in the state of Tennessee.
Greene is the third-highest ranked prospect from the Knoxville area, behind Powell teammate and wide receiver Adarius Redmond (No. 3) and Tennessee commit/Knoxville Catholic athlete Trevor Duncan (No. 12).
In December of 2021, Greene helped lead the Powell Panthers to the 5A Tennessee State Championship in a 42-34 victory over Page. Greene caught a 33-yard fourth-quarter touchdown to help the Panthers claim the top spot in the state of Tennessee. Powell High School is located just about 10 miles north of the University of Tennessee’s campus.
In mid-March, Ayden Greene released a top ten list. However, in comparison to Greene’s early-May top five, the teams that were cut included Virginia, Memphis, Arkansas State, Wake Forest, and West Virginia.
With Greene being as close as he is to Tennessee’s campus, Vols’ head coach Josh Heupel made the Powell receiver’s recruitment an early priority. Heupel extended Greene a scholarship offer in March of 2021, less than two months after he accepted the job as Tennessee’s head coach. In addition, Tennessee had Greene visit last summer for a camp.
Since Greene’s top ten was released in March, the Vols’ 2023 class has been on a tear. Tennessee now has nine players in the class, including a daunting top four leading the charge. The Vols’ top four recruits include five-star quarterback Nico Iamaleava, four-star edge rusher Caleb Herring, four-star safety Sylvester Smith, and four-star tight end Ethan Davis. In addition, Tennessee has also made sure to make the Volunteer State a priority in recruiting. So far, out of Tennessee’s nine total commits, five are from in-state.
It isn’t just the recruiting class that is hitting for Tennessee, though. The Vols and Heupel have also found success in the transfer portal this week on back-to-back-to-back days.
On Monday, Tennessee received a commitment from Ohio State transfer Andre Turrentine. The defensive back is a Nashville native who played for Ensworth High School. Then, on Tuesday evening, USC transfer and former five-star recruit Bru McCoy made the announcement that he would be transferring to Tennessee to continue his career. And lastly, on Wednesday, former Liberty and ETSU defensive lineman Austin Lewis announced that he would be transferring to Tennessee. Lewis is a Jonesborough, Tennessee native and formerly played for Davy Crockett High School.
