The most heated recruiting battle in the 2027 cycle comes to a close on Wednesday as elite five-star running back David Gabriel Georges makes his highly anticipated collegiate commitment. The Chattanooga prospect will be choosing between Tennessee, Ohio State, and Ole Miss.
Gabriel Georges will announce his decision at 5:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, July 22. A live stream of the commitment will be on CBS Sports’ College Football YouTube channel and CBS Sports HQ, giving interested fans an easy way to watch the announcement.
Tennessee Football enters the final 24-hour wait as the clear momentum leaders in the race. Since Monday morning, the Vols have landed four predictions from On3 insiders, including Pete Nakos, Steve Wiltfong, Sam Spiegelman, and Chad Simmons. All four experts locked in their predictions on Monday or Tuesday with a 70% confidence rating.
While Ole Miss is one of the three finalists, numerous reports and conversations have indicated that the race is mainly between Tennessee and Ohio State for the elite prospect. And while the Buckeyes had a lot of the momentum in June, the Volunteers appear to be in the driver’s seat heading into Wednesday. These predictions don’t guarantee anything, but they do suggest that the wind is blowing in Knoxville’s direction.
According to Rivals’ Industry Ratings, Gabriel Georges is listed as the No. 9 overall player in the class, the No. 2 running back in the class, and the No. 1 player from the Volunteer State (Baylor School). He’s the highest-ranked uncommitted player left on the board and is tagged as a five-star prospect on all three major recruiting publications (247, Rivals, and ESPN).
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The coveted prospect spoke about the difficulty of making the decision with On3’s Chris Low on July 13.
“It’s hard. You feel this way, like you know, and then it’s sort of 50-50,” Gabriel Georges said. “People will say the 22nd of July is far off, but honestly for me, it’s pretty close.”
Tennessee Football has produced three straight 1,000-yard rushers under head coach Josh Heupel. Jaylen Wright ran for 1,013 yards in 2023, Dylan Sampson broke UT records with 1,491 yards in 2024, and former walk-on running back DeSean Bishop reached 1,076 yards this past season. Bishop returns to the Vols this season and will have a chance to build on his breakout campaign in 2025.
“Both programs I think feel great about where they stand because of what they have to offer,” Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong said in early July, referring to the Vols and Buckeyes. “And for Tennessee, immediate starting job, number zero, a chance to be a legend is what his uncle highlighted this week in my conversation with him. Someone that could help bring Tennessee back to the forefront of college football and how special that would be, how a legacy like that would be remembered in Knoxville, alongside guys like Peyton Manning, it would be pretty special. And the relationship with Coach Heupel and the rest of the staff is second-to-none, and having relationships with players on the team, guys from Canada, it’s exciting.”
Tennessee Football currently has 17 commitments in the 2027 cycle, which ranks 34th in the nation on Rivals. The Vols’ current top-ranked commit is four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman, who is ranked as the No. 65 player in the nation. The Vols have three Top 200 commits with Bowman, four-star LB Kenneth Simon II (No. 146), and four-star OT Princeton Uwaifo (No. 192).
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more recruiting coverage leading into David Gabriel Georges’ commitment on July 22.
