Prior to early signing day on Wednesday, Tennessee Football held the 11th-ranked recruiting class in ESPN’s 2026 team rankings. The Vols were fifth in the SEC behind No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Texas, No. 6 Texas A&M, and No. 8 Alabama.
Wednesday had plenty of surprises in store for Josh Heupel’s Vols, though, and Tennessee ended up one of the big winners of the day. The Vols did lose an elite commitment with a flip to Utah, but wound up flipping four players themselves. Three of those players were four-star prospects, while one was a three-star.
Now, in ESPN’s updated standings, Tennessee boasts the No. 8 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle. The Vols still find themselves as the fifth-highest team from the SEC, but the rankings have shaken up a little bit. Texas is still at No. 3, Georgia is back at No. 5, Texas A&M is still at No. 6, and Alabama moved up to No. 7.
ESPN previously had Tennessee listed with 11 Top 300 prospects. The same is true in the updated rankings. While Tennessee lost four-star ATH Salesi Moa (No. 38), the Vols picked up a signature from four-star defensive lineman Jordan Carter (No. 57).
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Tennessee also added three-star defensive lineman JJ Finch as a flip from Alabama, four-star defensive lineman Carter Gooden as a flip from UCLA, and four-star athlete Legend Bey as a flip from Ohio State.
The Bey story is interesting and might not be done with its twists and turns yet. Bey originally committed to Tennessee in June, but flipped his commitment to Ohio State in November. Then, in a stunning signing day surprise, Bey flipped back to Tennessee and signed with the Vols. Different reports and speculation suggest that Bey could wind up back at Ohio State at some point down the road, but the future is uncertain at this time.
Regardless, though, Tennessee ended up as a big winner at the start of the early signing period. The Vols bolstered their defensive trenches with players like Gooden, Carter, and Finch, and kept the vast majority of their previously assembled class. Tennessee put a lot of effort into the cycle and looks to be coming out of it with a consensus Top 10 finish.
Tennessee improved in both 247Sports and Rivals‘ team rankings, but not quite to the same degree as it did with ESPN. The Vols previously had the No. 8 class with 247Sports and the No. 10 class with Rivals, and has since moved to No. 7 in the nation in both publications.
It’s looking like this thing will wind up being Josh Heupel’s best recruiting class during his Tennessee tenure. According to 247Sports, Tennessee currently has two five-star commits, 14 four-star commits, and 11 three-star commits.
