The recruiting dominoes have begun to fall after Penn State fired James Franklin on Sunday afternoon. One of the players who has decommitted from Penn State since the news is five-star running back Kemon Spell, who was already hesitant about his commitment leading into the weekend.
Spell told Rivals last Friday night that he wasn’t “100%” with Penn State, which was before the Nittany Lions’ home loss to Northwestern that put the nail in the coffin for Franklin’s tenure there. By Sunday afternoon, Spell had officially announced his decommitment and the reopening of his recruitment.
With Spell now back on the recruiting trail and looking for his collegiate home, Tennessee appears to be back in the race. According to Rivals’ recruiting analyst Hayes Fawcett, Josh Heupel’s Volunteers are one of eight programs that “stand out” to Spell.
The eight schools include Georgia, Southern Cal, Florida State, Miami, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Michigan, and Tennessee.
The timing of his decommitment comes at a good time for Tennessee. GoVols247’s Ryan Callahan reported back in August that the five-star running back would be in Knoxville for a Tennessee visit during the Oklahoma game on Nov. 1. While it’s not quite immediate, it’ll be a chance for Tennessee to potentially make an early impact as Spell assesses his options.
According to Rivals’ Industry Rankings, Spell lands as the top overall running back prospect in the 2027 class. He’s also rated as the No. 8 player in the cycle and the No. 1 player from the state of Pennsylvania. He currently plays for McKeesport High School in McKeesport, PA.
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“A mix between a tank and a jackrabbit, which is an extremely difficult combination to tackle,” 247Sports’ Andrew Ivins wrote in an April evaluation. “A naturally low-to-the-ground runner with true workhorse capabilities as he constantly bounces off defenders or cuts around them to find extra yardage. Spent much of sophomore campaign deployed as a fullback in a Wing-T offense. Ran absolutely wild in Pennsylvania’s WPIAL Class 4A playoffs with 280-yard and 274-yard rushing performances. Not a true burner, but can hit the gas when a crease opens up.”
Spell reportedly has 18 offers on the table, but he’ll likely get more now that his recruitment is back up. Oregon and Nebraska offered him a scholarship on the day he decommitted, while Georgia gave him one as recently as Oct. 8. Tennessee was the first SEC school to extend Spell a scholarship offer, which came back in February 2025.
Tennessee has another high-profile running back target in the 2027 class, though, with four-star prospect David Gabriel Georges from Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN. Georges has gotten out to a monster start to the season and should be rising up the recruiting rankings soon. 247Composite has him as the No. 2 running back and the No. 15 prospect in the class. Georges was in Knoxville this past weekend for a visit during Tennessee’s win over Arkansas.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football recruiting news.
