Tennessee football has been on the right side of three massive flips in recent weeks. However, on Thursday, it suffered a flip away from its commitment list. J.B. Shabazz, a four-star offensive lineman, has made the announcement that he is no longer committed to the Vols and will instead join Bill Belichick’s North Carolina program.
Shabazz stands at 6-foot-6 and is now going to stay inside his home state. He is from Kernersville, North Carolina, and plays for East Forsyth. Tennessee has previously had massive success in landing talent out of the Tar Heel State. In this 2026 cycle, UT landed five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon from the state. In the 2025 class, the Vols reeled in five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr., four-star defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell and three-star defensive lineman Charles House from North Carolina.
During his initial recruitment, Shabazz picked Tennessee over South Carolina and Ohio State. He had the list whittled down to three, which did not include North Carolina. Down the stretch, it seemed like it was down to the Vols and the Gamecocks, making the switch to the Tar Heels a late development in his recruitment.
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According to On3/Rivals‘ rankings at the time he picked UT, Shabazz is ranked as high as the No. 56 player in the country as a four-star prospect. The site ranked him as the No. 6 offensive tackle and No. 7 player out of North Carolina in the class. 247 and ESPN both have Shabazz as a three-star recruit.
Shabazz took official visits to five schools this summer before narrowing the list down to three. He started at South Carolina on May 30 before heading to Penn State and NC State.
On June 13, he made the visit to see Tennessee. He was being primarily recruited by offensive line coach Glen Elarbee with the Vols. He would round out his list of official visits at Ohio State on June 20.
Tennessee now holds 24 commitments in the 2026 class. According to Rivals industry rankings, it is the No. 8 group in the nation and No. 5 in the SEC, even after losing Shabazz. This is helped by holding the commitments of four players with five-star status on at least one site. This features 247’s top-ranked recruit in Brandon, wide receiver Tristen Keys, offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda and athlete Salesi Moa.
On the offensive line, Osenda remains in the boat along with four-star tackle Kamari Blair and three-star interior lineman Edward Baker.
