With Brayden Rouse rightfully drawing all the attention on Tuesday night with his commitment to Tennessee, you might’ve missed another piece of UT recruiting news that went under the radar just a little while later.
About two hours after Rouse’s commitment, On3 Sports’ Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons and VP of Recruiting Steve Wiltfong both logged predictions for Tennessee to land a commitment from four-star offensive tackle J.B. Shabazz.
Simmons and Wiltfong’s predictions both came in just before the 9:00 p.m. ET hour, with both slotting in the Vols with a 60% confidence prediction. It was also enough to jump Tennessee’s lead in On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine all the way up to a commanding 91.7%.
Shabazz will announce his commitment at 6:00 p.m. ET on Friday night on his Instagram account.
The 6-foot-6, 280-pound tackle plays for East Forsyth High School in Winston-Salem, N.C. He’ll be picking from a trio of schools that includes Tennessee, South Carolina, and Ohio State.
On3’s rankings have Shabazz as a four-star prospect, the No. 56 player in the class, the No. 6 offensive tackle in the 2026 cycle, and the No. 7 player from the state of North Carolina.
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Tennessee is hoping to add Shabazz to its 2026 class alongside four/five-star offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda, who has been one of the big risers in the cycle over the last few months. Osenda committed to Tennessee in January and is a top-four prospect in the Vols’ class.
After a massive stretch on the recruiting trail this summer, Tennessee is up to 19 total commits. In addition to Osenda, the Vols also have a commitment from three-star offensive lineman Edward Baker. Adding a high-caliber player like Shabazz would go a long way in bolstering the trenches in Tennessee’s 2026 class.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more on J.B. Shabazz’s commitment on Friday night.
