Tennessee football is one of the schools still in the mix for a top recruit in the class of 2028. Last week, five-star offensive tackle Antijuan ‘Shaq’ Wilkes Jr. named the Vols as one of the dozen schools he’s still considering.
Tennessee joins Michigan State, Georgia, Miami, Missouri, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, LSU, Oregon and Alabama as the 12 schools that Wilkes is still considering at this point in his recruitment.
Wilkes is ranked as the No. 6 overall player in the 2028 cycle, according to Rivals. He is the No. 1 offensive tackle and No. 1 player from the state of Michigan. He is out of Detroit, where he stars for Cass Technical.
NEWS: Five-Star OT Antijuan “Shaq” Wilkes Jr. is down to 12 Schools, he tells me for @Rivals
The 6’7 280 OT from Detroit, MI is ranked as the No. 6 Recruit (No. 1 OT) in the 2028 Rivals300https://t.co/gBwRH7lOYm pic.twitter.com/285WSY7dFE
Advertisement— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 4, 2026
More From RTI: Something Big To Watch For in the Tennessee Football Recruiting World on Saturday
Tennessee got its offer in for Wilkes recently. The Vols officially extended the offer on May 5, 2026. This makes UT the most recent team to offer him to stay in the cut down to just 12 schools.
Wilkes’ primary recruiter is Glen Elarbee. The offensive line coach has been with Tennessee for the entire Josh Heupel tenure and has had some success recruiting tackles. In just the past two classes, he’s reeled in a pair of five-stars. This included David Sanders Jr., who started as a true freshman, and most recently, Gabriel Osenda, who is entering his freshman year.
Currently, Tennessee doesn’t have any commitments in the 2028 class. However, it’s building on its 2027 class with official visits taking place over the past few weekends. So far, UT holds 13 commitments in the class, which ranks as the No. 48 group in the country on 247.
