Signing day doesn’t just mean high school recruits. Tennessee football and other schools across the country will also look to ink the best of the junior college ranks. As far as the Vols’ efforts, they hosted one of the better JUCO prospects for an official visit this past weekend.
Jaylen Thomas, a defensive lineman from Northwest Mississippi C.C., took in Tennessee’s game against Vanderbilt. Thomas also took an unofficial visit to see UT in October for the win over Arkansas in Neyland Stadium.
He’s also taken visits to Arkansas, West Virginia and Kansas. Other notable programs to offer him include Vanderbilt, Baylor, Iowa State, Boise State, Syracuse, Kansas State and Memphis.
247 ranks Thomas as a three-star recruit. He is the No. 14 JUCO player and No. 4 defensive lineman in the class. He is from Memphis, Tennessee.
Thank You Tennessee for a Wonderful Official Visit @matt_ray_ @RyanCallahan247 @AllenTrieu pic.twitter.com/bIbS0VG5Ld
— Jaylen Thomas (@JaylenThomas517) December 1, 2025
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Thomas stands at 6-foot-3 and is 310 pounds. He can play both defensive tackle and defensive end, but it is currently unclear how the Vols would look to use him. His primary recruiter is Rodney Garner, who is responsible for coaching both of those positions.
He just concluded his second season of college football at the JUCO level. As a freshman, he played in eight games, recording eight tackles, 2.5 TFLs and 1.5 sacks. In 11 games in 2025, he produced 18 tackles, 2.5 TFLs and half a sack.
Out of high school, Thomas initially signed with UAB. However, he went the JUCO route to begin his career instead. He was also recruited by the likes of Tennessee Martin, Missouri Southern, Arkansas Pine Bluff, Albany State and Georgia Military College.
The Vols have had success stories out of JUCO under Josh Heupel. Most notably, they brought in Byron Young, who wound up being a star on the defensive line and is now one of the best outside linebackers in the NFL. Jamal Wallace also signed straight from JUCO, but just entered the portal after two seasons.
This past year, Joey Aguilar, Miles Kitselman and Star Thomas all got their starts in JUCO, though each played with an FBS school before transferring to Tennessee.
