Tennessee has seemingly made good progress with a talented in-state running back from the 2027 recruiting cycle.
While speaking on Josh Newberg’s Rivals YouTube show, college football recruiting analyst Steve Wiltfong shared some insight on Tennessee Football’s pursuit of three-star running back Asa Barnes.
“The week after David Gabriel Georges is going to announce his college decision, in-state running back Asa Barnes out of Westview High in Martin, TN, is going to make his college declaration,” Wiltfong said. “Tennessee is trending heavy for the talented in-state running back: six foot, 200 pounds”
Barnes is ranked as a three-star prospect on Rivals’ recruiting service, coming in as the No. 551 player in the class, the No. 40 running back in the cycle, and the No. 22 player from the state of Tennessee. He’s slated to make his commitment on July 29 at 5 p.m. ET.
The Vols’ coaching staff has gone out to the western part of the state to see Barnes multiple times. He’s also made trips to Knoxville to get a close look at Rocky Top. This featured an official visit to UT on June 19. His primary recruiter with UT is running backs coach De’Rail Sims.
As Wiltfong mentioned, though, there’s another big running back recruitment story that’s ongoing for the Vols with five-star prospect David Gabriel Georges, who is set to make his commitment between Tennessee, Ohio State, and Ole Miss on July 22. Barnes reportedly knows all about Tennessee’s interest in Gabriel Georges, but isn’t afraid of competition if both players wind up on Rocky Top.
“Obviously aware of the shadow of Gabriel Georges and Tennessee’s love for him, but the Vols lead in this recruitment for Asa Barnes,” Wiltfong said. “He doesn’t care who’s in the room, whether DGG’s in the room or not. Tennessee is the program that checks the boxes for him.”
Wiltfong also mentioned that Ole Miss and Kentucky are some of the other programs that Barnes is “strongly considering” as he nears his commitment date at the end of the month.
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Tennessee has been talking to Barnes for more than a year now. The Vols hosted Barnes on an official visit on June 5, 2025, and offered him a scholarship the same day. The in-state prospect was also in Knoxville for the Georgia game last fall and the Orange & White game this past spring.
While the rankings are different, Tennessee has two talented running back prospects within its own borders that it’ll try to land this month. Gabriel Georges has been one of the most talked-about recruits in the 2027 cycle, but don’t sleep on what the Vols could do with Barnes.
Tennessee has had plenty of familiarity with three-star running backs during the Josh Heupel era. Jaylen Wright and Dylan Sampson were both tagged as three-star prospects during their recruitments, and flourished into thousand-yard single-season rushers on Rocky Top. Sampson wound up setting Tennessee’s all-time single-season rushing mark at 1,491 yards and single-season rushing touchdowns mark at 22 during the 2025 season. Additionally, the Vols return former walk-on running back DeSean Bishop this season, who also ran for 1,000+ yards last year.
Gabriel Georges’ announcement will command a ton of attention on July 22, but don’t forget to keep an eye on Asa Barnes on July 29. It would be a home run for Tennessee to land both.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football recruiting news and coverage.
