The optimistic news around 2026 linebacker TJ White and Tennessee continues to come in ahead of his nearing commitment date in July.
On Sunday, 247Sports’ Tom Loy reported that White was down to a Top 4 of Auburn, Florida State, Mississippi State, and Tennessee.
Now, on Tuesday, Tennessee has received two predictions from On3 Sports’ Chad Simmons and Steve Wiltfong to land White’s services. Simmons and White’s predictions both come in at 60%, skyrocketing Tennessee’s Recruiting Prediction Machine index to 92.2%.
White has an imminent announcement date of July 1, so it won’t be long at all before his decision becomes public. Will this be the first blue-chip summer commit for Josh Heupel? We’ll have to wait and see, but it appears to be trending in the right direction for the Big Orange.
247Sports’ Composite Rankings have White just outside of the Top 100 at No. 113 in the class overall. He’s also listed as a four-star prospect, the No. 7 linebacker in the class, and the No. 5 player from the state of Mississippi. He currently plays for Jackson Academy in Jackson, MS.
“Hybrid defender that can get after the quarterback,” 247 Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins wrote in a June evaluation. “Snap count is heavy on the edge looks, but has also displayed the ability to drop as an off-ball linebacker in camp settings. Suddenness and unexpected power has proven to be no match for opposing offensive tackles as he attacks the corner with plenty of vigor.”
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White has taken official visits to all four of his finalists in the last 30 days, and also added one with North Carolina on May 22. His visit to Tennessee came on June 13, which was a massive recruiting weekend that included the likes of five-star QB commit Faizon Brandon and five-star WR target Tristen Keys.
“Had a great time at Rocky Top this past weekend, me and my family enjoyed it,” White wrote in a post to X on June 19.
Had a great time at Rocky Top this past weekend, me and my family enjoyed it.@coachjoshheupel @WilliamInge1 @CoachTimBanks @CoachForrestL @CoachORourke @CoachBrautigam pic.twitter.com/3IivwUVBox
— Theron “TJ” White Jr (@TjWhite1_) June 19, 2025
Tennessee currently has nine commitments in its 2026 class, which ranks No. 51 in 247’s rankings and 15th in On3’s rankings. The Vols’ commitments include five-star QB Faizon Brandon, five-star OT Gabriel Osenda, four-star EDGE Zach Groves, four-star WR Tyreek King, four-star TE Carson Sneed, three-star S KJ McClain, three-star EDGE CJ Edwards, three-star S Luke Thompson, and three-star LB Braylon Outlaw.
Class of 2026 four-star linebacker TJ White will announce his commitment on Tuesday, July 1. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more information that comes out leading into his decision.
TJ White out here with a INT🤯
Making his commit on July 1st. The four-star is down to Auburn, Florida State, Mississippi State and Tennessee pic.twitter.com/VGep85mtLG
— Rivals (@Rivals) June 24, 2025
