Tennessee football may have just gotten some indirect great news on the recruiting trail. After visiting the Vols less than a week ago, five-star and in-state wide receiver Kesean Bowman has decommitted from Oregon, according to Rivals. He picked the Ducks on July 24, 2025, but backed off the pledge of Sept. 19.
Bowman made the trip from the midstate to Knoxville this past Saturday to take an unofficial visit to see the Georgia game. According to Rivals’ Director of Recruiting Chad Simmons, Chris Brazzell’s 177-yard, three-touchdown game was something that caught Bowman’s eye. Bowman told Simmons in an interview that Brazzell’s impressive game ‘stood out’ during his trip. Bowman also mentioned having ‘great’ conversations with Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope.
Bowman is a five-star receiver in the class of 2027, according to 247composite rankings. He is the No. 36 player in the country, No. 6 wide receiver and No. 2 player out of Tennessee. He plays for Brentwood Academy and is in his junior year.
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Just ahead of his trip to Tennessee, Bowman also took a visit to see Ohio State. He had previously planned three fall visits to Oregon, but it’s unclear if he still plans to make those trips after decommitting. It appears it’s these three schools, along with a possible push from Texas, that are frontrunners to land him once things are all said and done.
If Tennessee can pull off the commitment, it’d continue a remarkable stretch on the trail for Pope. In the 2024 cycle, he brought in five-star Mike Matthews and high-four-star Braylon Staley, both of whom are current starters. He also landed Brazzell as a young transfer that cycle to round out the current trio.
In the 2025 cycle, Pope landed four-stars Travis Smith Jr. and Radarious Jackson on the outside and three-star Joakim Dodson in the slot. This 2026 class, he’s taken it to another level. Tennessee holds the commitments of five-stars Tristen Keys and Salesi Moa and four-stars Tyreek King and Legend Bey.
So far in the 2027 class, Tennessee holds just one commitment. Legacy linebacker J.P. Peace is in the boat, but the Vols are in good standing for multiple top recruits.
