Four-star instate athlete Joel Wyatt committed to Tennessee football Monday afternoon over Oklahoma, Vanderbilt and others, he announced on his Instagram.
The top remaining uncommitted player in the Volunteer State in the 2026 recruiting cycle, Wyatt originally planned on announcing his commitment in early July before delaying his decision due to Oklahoma’s push to land the blue-chip athlete.
But Josh Heupel and his staff were persistent in their efforts to land Wyatt and eventually got to the finish line and landed the highly touted prospect in the last week of the month.
Wyatt ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 48 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. He also ranks as the No. 2 player in the state of Tennessee and the No. 5 athlete in the 2026 recruiting cycle. Only Georgia quarterback commit Jared Curtis ranks higher than Wyatt in the Volunteer State this cycle.
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The 6-foot-4, 195-pound athlete recently transferred to 6A Murfreesboro power Oakland High School for his senior high school season. Wyatt previously attended the Webb School in Bell Buckle but the Feet do not have enough players to field a team this season which led to the summer transfer.
It’s uncertain what position Wyatt will play in college. For a while, Tennessee appeared to be recruiting him as an edge rusher while Vanderbilt recruited him to play both safety and receiver. The Vols eventually pivoted and Wyatt will likely start his college career in the defensive backfield.
Tennessee football has made hay recruiting the Volunteer State in the 2026 cycle with Wyatt marking the Vols’ ninth instate commitment in the recruiting cycle. Tennessee boasts commitments from three of the top five players in the state, four of the top seven players in the state and six of the 14 blue-chip prospects in the state.
The Vols’ 2026 recruiting class now contains 22 commitments including from three safeties, two inside linebackers and two outside linebackers. Wyatt’s commitment boosted Tennessee’s class from No. 14 nationally to No. 12 nationally according to the 247sports team rankings. The Vols class also ranks No. 6 in the SEC.
