Tennessee is one of the five finalists for a highly-touted safety in the 2027 class, and now we know when a commitment announcement will come. According to a report from Rivals’ Chad Simmons on Friday, four-star safety KJ Caldwell will announce his decision on Friday, Apr. 3.
Caldwell will be deciding between Georgia, Miami, NC State, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt.
Rivals’ Industry Rankings have Caldwell listed as the No. 94 player in the class, the No. 8 safety in the cycle, and the No. 13 player from the state of Virginia. He plays ball at Parkview High School in Lilburn, GA. Parkview is the same high school that current Tennessee star wide receiver Mike Matthews went to.
Here’s a look at what Caldwell brings to the table on the gridiron:
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Tennessee has been in contact with Caldwell for about a year now. Josh Heupel’s staff first extended him a scholarship offer on Apr. 9, 2025, and he’s visited Knoxville twice since then. Caldwell visited Rocky Top for the Big Orange BBQ recruiting event on May 31 and then returned for a school camp last June.
Tennessee’s defensive coaching staff has seen some good change since those events unfolded, though. Following the 2025 season, Tennessee parted ways with defensive coordinator/safeties coach Tim Banks and defensive backs coach Willie Martinez. The Vols then went out and hired Penn State’s Jim Knowles to serve as the defensive coordinator and Penn State’s Anthony Poindexter to serve as the safeties coach and co-DC.
The Vols currently have four commitments in their 2027 recruiting class with four-star offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, four-star defensive lineman Kadin Fife, three-star linebacker JP Peace, and three-star quarterback Derrick Baker. Tennessee had a de-commitment from three-star cornerback Kamauri Whitfield last week.
