Tennessee Football flipped a big recruiting weekend into a big recruiting haul over the last few days. The Vols received three commitments between Saturday and Sunday, and reportedly made some nice progress with out targets who were on campus.
The first of Tennessee’s commitments on Saturday was Malik Howard, a talented tight end from Oak Ridge High School (TN). Howard announced his commitment in front of an in-house crowd during the event, prompting an immediate hug and handshake from Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.
Howard is a four-star prospect in Rivals’ database, and ranks as the No. 225 player in the nation, the No. 11 player at his position, and the No. 10 prospect from the Volunteer State.
During his junior season at Oak Ridge, Howard tallied 11 touchdowns and 778 receiving yards on 53 receptions. He nearly doubled his stats from his breakout sophomore campaign, which saw him rack up six touchdowns and 389 yards on 32 catches. He’s a smooth, sure-handed pass catcher who will work well in an offense like Tennessee’s.
To close down the night just a handful of hours later, Tennessee landed a commitment from JUCO defensive lineman Christian Mays. The 6-foot-5, 340-pound prospect comes from Northeast Mississippi Community College, where he tallied 17 tackles, five tackles for loss, one sack, and one pass breakup during his freshman season.
Mays was primarily recruited by Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner, and wound up choosing the Vols over a trio of SEC programs including Arkansas, Mississippi State, and Auburn.
Tennessee then hauled in its third commitment of the weekend in the final hours of Sunday, landing three-star cornerback Dylan Haley out of Flowery Branch, GA. The 6-foot-1 defensive back is listed on Rivals as the No. 488 player in the class, the No. 52 cornerback in the cycle, and the No. 59 player from the state of Georgia.
Ole Miss was pushing hard for Haley’s services prior to his trip to Knoxville over the weekend, but Tennessee was able to close the deal and secure its guy.
All three players were on campus for an official visit over the weekend, and all three pledged their commitment by the time the event was over. A pretty good return on investment for Tennessee’s big weekend.
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While the commitments stopped there, Tennessee still seemingly made some good progress with other highly-touted prospects. The name that’s buzzing online right now is five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, who Tennessee is going all-out for. Gabriel Georges is ranked as a Top 15 overall player and currently plays for Baylor School in Chattanooga.
Another buzzworthy name coming out of the weekend is Q’Mari Hudson, who is reportedly expected to announce his decision between Tennessee, Virginia Tech, and Virginia this Saturday. Rivals’ Chad Simmons logged a prediction for Hudson to land with the Vols coming out of a productive visit to Rocky Top.
There are still other names that Tennessee is trying to secure, but all seemingly went well for Josh Heupel and his program as the Vols look to build for the future.
With 12 commitments in the 2027 class, Tennessee Football’s group ranks 31st overall in Rivals team rankings coming out of the weekend.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football recruiting news.
