Tennessee football couldn’t seal the deal with in-state, four-star defensive back Craig Tutt.
Tutt committed to Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss program on Friday over the Vols and Auburn.
He is a prospect out of Oakland High School in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Tutt ranks as the No. 283 player in the 2026 class, No. 23 safety and No. 8 player out of the Volunteer State, according to Rivals industry rankings.
This summer, Tutt made his round of official visits. He visited his three finalists and kept his traveling to just that. The first school he saw was Ole Miss on June 6, before hitting Auburn on June 10. He made the trip east to see the Vols on June 20 alongside a long list of elite visitors that weekend.
Tutt has made multiple other trips to see the Vols, as well. He was in town for the popular ‘865 Live’ event in late May and a spring practice on April 5, just before the annual Orange & White Spring Game. He also made his way to campus twice for game day visits this past season to see Tennessee dismantle Kent State 71-0 and beat Alabama 24-17.
He originally picked up his offer from the Vols back on November 4, 2023, following a visit. He returned in April of 2024, as well.
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247 National Recruiting Analyst Cooper Petagna compared Tutt to current Vols defensive back and potential two-way player Boo Carter.
“Three-phase playmaker that garnered almost 2,000 all-purpose yards as a junior at Oakland High School while playing multiple positions on both sides of the football,” Petagna wrote. “Estimated at a shade under 6-feet and 180-pounds, Tutt’s multi-dimensional skill set more than likely projects best to the defense side of the ball at the next level where his versatility and playmaking athleticism excels the most.”
According to 247, Tennessee currently owns the No. 13 class in the country. So far, the Vols have reeled in 21 commitments, including a good number of defensive backs.
Tim Banks and Willie Martinez have earned the commitments of cornerbacks Zay Anderson, Jamyan Theodore and Javonte Smith. At safety, Jowell Combay, KJ McClain and Luke Thompson are all in the boat. Each of these commits are three-stars except Anderson, who recently jumped to four-star status.
