Tennessee Football has made waves in the recruiting world in the last two weeks by flipping three SEC commits in an eleven-day stretch: four-star OT Kamari Blair from South Carolina, five-star WR Tristen Keys from LSU, and four-star EDGE rusher Hezekiah Harris from Auburn.
A new report on Wednesday suggests that there’s another name that Josh Heupel and his staff are working hard to turn before signing day.
Four-star running back Amari Latimer has been a Wisconsin commit since late June. His older brother, Geimere Latimer II, is a junior cornerback with the Badgers.
But despite Latimer’s commitment to Wisconsin’s 2026 class, his father told Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong that Tennessee is one of a few teams that aren’t going down without a fight.
“The (Florida State) Seminoles and for that matter Georgia and Tennessee too have said that they’re going to fight till the end,” Latimer’s father, Geimere, told Wiltfong in an interview for Rivals. “Georgia Tech is still recruiting heavy too.”
According to Rivals’ Industry Rankings, Latimer comes in as the No. 313 player in the class, the No. 22 running back in the nation, and the No. 40 player from the state of Georgia. Tennessee has seen success recruiting the Peach State in recent years, with notable 2025 signees such as WR Travis Smith Jr., CB Ty Redmond, LB Christian Gass, LB Jadon Perlotte, and LB Jaedon Harmon.
Redmond, Smith, and Harmon all saw action in Tennessee’s season-opener against Syracuse this past weekend, with Redmond playing a standout role as an injury replacement for CB Rickey Gibson III. Redmond ended up being Tennessee’s highest-rated defensive player from PFF with 60 total plays against the Orange. The Georgia native and UT freshman projects to be a big part of Tennessee’s secondary while Gibson and Jermod McCoy recover from injury.
More From RTI: How Josh Heupel Plays A Part in Lady Vols Basketball Recruiting
Tennessee and Josh Heupel have been feisty on the recruiting trail in recent weeks with the trio of SEC flips. Make no mistake, these have been statement recruiting victories. Tennessee has built strong relationships on the recruiting trail and fights hard for the players that it believes can make an impact on its roster in the near future.
Tristen Keys, for instance, was a longtime LSU commitment. He kept his options open throughout the summer, but reports leading to and after his flip suggested that strong ties with Tennessee’s coaching staff, as well as with other commitments such as five-star quarterback Fiazon Brandon, helped seal the deal for his switch to the Big Orange.
What Wisconsin has going for Latimer’s recruitment is something Tennessee didn’t have to factor in with Blair and Keys, though. That would be the family connection. Geimere Latimer II played his first two seasons at Jacksonville State before transferring to Wisconsin ahead of the 2025 season. He tallied one tackle in the Badgers’ season-opener against Miami-Ohio.
Tennessee has shown to be adaptive with the running back position under assistant coach De’Rail Sims. Last year’s offense was rightfully built heavily around SEC Offensive Player of the Year Dylan Sampson, but the 2025 offense looks to have much more balance to it. Tennessee rushed for 248 yards in the opener against Syracuse last weekend, with Star Thomas getting 12 carries, DeSean Bishop getting 11 carries, and Peyton Lewis getting eight carries. Those three players combined for 212 of Tennessee’s 248 ground yards last Saturday.
Tennessee missed out on elite five-star running back Savion Hiter to Michigan this past month. Will the Vols be able to flip Amari Latimer to add a strong running back presence to their class? We’ll have to wait and see.
Check out Steve Wiltfong’s full Rivals interview with Amari Latimer’s father about his son’s recruitment here.
