Josh Heupel and Tennessee football are putting together one of the better 2026 recruiting classes in the country and are far from finished.
After a busy period of commitments featuring seven announcements since last Friday, the Vols are up to 16 players in the boat for the class.
The most recent additions were a trio of defenders on Tuesday in four-star defensive lineman Dereon Albert, four-star linebacker TJ White and three-star cornerback Jamyan Theodore. Earlier in the hot-stretch, four-stars athlete Legend Bey and EDGE Kedric Golston and three-stars cornerback Zaydyn Anderson and offensive lineman Edward Baker joined the group, as well.
This has resulted in the unit being ranked as the No. 12 class in the country, according to 247 composite rankings, as of Tuesday night. That’s good for the fourth-best mark of any school in the SEC.
Ahead of the Vols are just No. 2 Georgia, No. 4 Texas A&M and No. 7 Alabama. Right behind UT are No. 13 Texas, No. 14 LSU and No. 16 Florida. Arkansas also checks in just a few more spots down the list at No. 21, making half the SEC on track to reel in a top 25 class.
Mississippi State is next on the list all the way down at No. 32. The Bulldogs are followed by Oklahoma at No. 38, Ole Miss at No. 42, Vanderbilt at No. 45 and Kentucky at No. 48. Outside of the top 50 sit South Carolina at No. 61, Missouri at No. 76 and Auburn all the way down at No. 89.
This places the likes of San Jose State, Nevada, Texas State, Idaho and South Alabama above Auburn. Even former Florida and Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen’s UNLV program comes in at No. 68, well ahead of Hugh Freeze’s Tigers.
More From RTI: Tennessee Jumps Ten Spots in Recruiting Rankings After Massive Recruiting Day
According to the 247 composite rankings, Tennessee owns just one commitment from a five-star prospect. Quarterback Faizon Brandon checks in as the No. 6 national recruit and No. 2 quarterback in the composite, but is the top-overall recruit regardless of position in 247’s own rankings.
This makes the Vols one of just six SEC programs to currently have a 247 composite five-star committed at the moment. Tennessee joins Alabama, Texas, Georgia, Texas A&M and LSU in the club. The Tide and Longhorns are the only two in the conference with a pair of five-stars. However, offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda does hold five-star status in 247’s own rankings, just not in the composite. UT is also making a strong push to steal LSU’s five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys.
In terms of total commitments, Tennessee’s 16 commitments are tied for fifth-most in the SEC to this point with Alabama. Ahead of the Vols are Georgia with 26, Arkansas with 24, Mississippi State with 24 and Texas A&M with 22.
Tennessee is continuing its push for plenty more recruits, as well. The Vols are looking to close the deal with in-state athletes Joel Wyatt and Javonte Smith in the coming weeks to help lock down the state. Other targets to keep in mind are running back Savion Hiter, athlete Salesi Moa, linebacker Brayden Rouse and defensive lineman Darryl Rivers.
