Tennessee football has come up short of landing a five-star recruit for the second time this week. After losing running back Savion Hiter to Michigan, the Vols couldn’t close out on interior lineman Darius Gray, who instead is headed to South Carolina.
Gray ranks as the No. 16 recruit in the 2026 class, according to 247. He is the No. 1 interior lineman and No. 1 player out of Virginia. He plays for St. Christopher’s School in Richmond. He picked the Gamecocks over the Vols, Clemson, LSU and Ohio State.
“Athletic offensive lineman with a dense build that has the foot quickness to lead the way on long pulls or counters and the horsepower to hold the line of scrimmage or change it,” 247 Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins wrote. “Ended up being one of the biggest surprises of the 2025 Navy All-American Bowl as he arrived with 34-inch arms and then was able to anchor all week against much older and larger defenders. Relentless energy allows him to not only be a plus finisher in the run game, but also readjust and recover in pass sets. Tends to punch with authority and frequently has the upper and lower halves dancing to the same tune…”
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Gray had made the trip south to Knoxville a handful of times. Most recently, he took an official visit to Tennessee on June 6. He also took an official look at his other four finalists, along with Penn State, Georgia, Auburn, Virginia and Virginia Tech, who didn’t make the cut.
Prior to his string of officials, he got to check out the Vols this past March, as well as November and June of both 2024 and 2023. He initially picked up his offer from Tennessee on March 28, 2023.
UT already holds the commitment from Gabriel Osenda as a five-star offensive lineman in the boat for Tennessee this cycle. Osenda plays tackle and is the No. 19 player in the class, according to 247. The Vols also hold the commitment of five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, the top-ranked recruit in the country on 247, and athlete Salesi Moa.
On the interior, Tennessee owns the commitment of three-star Edward Baker. The Vols also have landed offensive tackle J.B. Shabazz, who ranks as a four-star on Rivals, and four-star tackle Kamari Blair, who flipped to Tennessee from South Carolina on Thursday.
As a class, the Vols hold 23 commitments in the cycle. The group ranks as the No. 11 class, via 247.
