Tennessee football’s 2026 recruiting class entered the summer in a shaky spot, having landed just one combined commit in March, April and May. But the Vols went on a tear over the summer, landing six commits in June, 10 commits in July and one more commit in August.
After last week’s busy recruiting week saw Tennessee lose a pair of big time battles but flip a major target, things appear to be dying down for the Vols on the recruiting trail entering the start of the 2025 season.
The season is a time to host visitors on campus for games, particularly juniors, but is also a time of evaluating the senior seasons for select players and potentially restructuring the board with the bulk of the 2026 class in the boat. So where does Tennessee football’s recruiting class look like and what’s next for the group? Taking a look here.
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A Summer Of Recruiting Wins
Tennessee’s recruiting class currently contains 23 commitments. Seventeen of those players committed to Tennessee over the last three months. The Vols landed commitments from one five-star, nine four-stars and six three-star recruits during that stretch including some of their best wins on the recruiting trail to date.
The Vols held off a late push from Texas to land top 100 linebacker Brayden Rouse. They upset home state and legacy school Utah to land five-star athlete Salesi Moa. Josh Heupel and his staff won instate battles, beating Vanderbilt for four-star athlete Joel Wyatt and flipping four-star offensive lineman Kimari Blari from South Carolina.
Tennessee also won recruiting battles where they usually don’t win recruiting battles. Moa would be the first ever Vol football player from Utah. Four-stars TJ White and Dereon Albert committed to Tennessee out of Jackson, Mississippi. Dallas receiver Legend Bay chose the Vols over instate Texas A&M.
But with recruiting, there are always losses along with the wins. Tight end Carson Sneed flipped his commitment from Tennessee to North Carolina. Five-star running back Savion Hiter chose Michigan over Tennessee and five-star guard Darius Gray chose South Carolina over Tennessee and LSU.
What Positions Do Tennessee Have Players Committed At?
Quarterback: 1
Running back: 0
Receiver: 3
Offensive line: 4 (3 tackles, 1 interior lineman)
Tight end: 0
Defensive line: 5 (2 edge rushers, 3 true defensive linemen)
Inside linebackers: 3
Cornerbacks: 3
Safeties: 4
Where Does Tennessee’s Class Rank?
- National rank: No. 11
- National rank by average: No. 14
- SEC rank: No. 6
- SEC rank by average: No. 8
- National rank: No. 12
- National rank by average: No. 13
- SEC rank: No. 6
- SEC rank by average: No. 8
Tennessee Pushing For A Few Key Flips
As Tennessee’s recruiting class indicates, the summer is now the busiest time in college recruiting. Every five-star according to 247sports has already announced their commitment. In fact, every top 100 player has committed to a school and only four players in the top 247 have yet to commit.
All that to say, there’s not a ton of big game fishing left to do. But Tennessee will look to flip a handful of commitments including three from SEC foes.
It starts with five-star receiver Tristen Keys. All eyes are on the LSU commit who visited Tennessee this summer. The Vols are a serious player to flip the No. 4 player and top receiver in the country.
Tennessee is also pushing to flip a pair of edge rushers from SEC foes. Five-star Tristian Givens (No. 24 player) committed to Texas A&M over Tennessee in June but the Vols continue to pursue. The same is the case for four-star Hezekiah Harris (No. 100 player) who has been committed to Auburn for over a year but officially visited Tennessee back in June.
