It appears Tennessee football may have snagged one of the most underrated recruits in the country late in the 2026 cycle this year. The Vols managed to flip edge rusher Carter Gooden from UCLA to UT on early signing day, adding him to an already stacked recruiting class.
Now, that addition is looking even better. On Tuesday, Rivals released its final rankings for the 2026 class. Gooden, a four-star, checked in all the way up at No. 74 in the nation. This is a 75-spot jump from his previous spot at No. 149.
This positioning ranks him as the No. 14 edge rusher and the No. 1 player from Massachusetts. He is from Marion, where he played for Tabor Academy. Now, he is early enrolled and adjusting to life as a college athlete in Knoxville.
Biggest risers in the final 2026 Rivals300 rankings📈
Read: https://t.co/e6TbcNfIIk pic.twitter.com/WFru7buFN9
— Rivals (@Rivals) January 27, 2026
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Gooden is also a top-100 prospect on 247. He clocks in at No. 90 nationally, No. 13 edge rusher and No. 1 player from Massachusetts on that service.
“Still continuing to grow and develop,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said about Gooden. “He is hungry and desperate. Went away from home to finish high school and have the experience on the football side of it that he wanted to. He’s got high goals, high dreams of what he wants to accomplish. Our staff throughout the course of the fall just continued to watch, evaluate and then start really being heavy in the communication with him.
“We were able to get him in for this last weekend, where you’re able to host and he and his mom had a great experience. They loved the game day atmosphere, the fan base, they could feel how much it mattered to them. They wanted a big-time college football feel and experience, but wanted to balance that with the growth of the man and they both felt extremely comfortable. We were able to get great news on him, you know, a day after he finished his visit here.”
Tennessee signed 27 high school commits in the 2026 class on early signing day. 24 of these prospects are already enrolled and on campus. The Vols also added a pair of local prospects, offensive lineman Jeremy George-El from Knoxville Catholic and wide receiver JaColby Cooper from Alcoa, this past week.
The group ranks top-five in the country on 247.
