Tennessee football is set to host one of the top-ranked 2028 quarterbacks this weekend. Four-star signal caller Trace Hawkins will be in Knoxville on Saturday, he tells RTI.
Hawkins is ranked as a four-star recruit by 247 Composite. He clocks in as the No. 87 overall recruit, No. 6 quarterback and No. 7 player from the state of Georgia in the 2028 class. Hawkins is from Calhoun, Georgia, and plays for Calhoun High School.
Other visits Hawkins announced on his X account include Clemson, Florida State, Florida and Duke. He holds offers from SMU, Indiana, Auburn and Georgia Tech, as well.
Previously, Hawkins made his way to see Tennessee in June of 2025.
— Trace Hawkins (@TraceHawkins_16) June 8, 2025
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Currently, the Vols hold no commitments in the 2028 class. However, the majority of the cycle remains uncommitted as they get better looks at potential schools.
Tennessee is off to a strong start in the 2027 cycle, as well. So far, UT has landed four commitments in the class. The Vols boast four-star offensive lineman Princeton Uwaifo as the headliner, with four-star Kadin Fife also in the boat. However, Fife is apparently back in the evaluation process after defensive staff changes.
Three-star quarterback Derrick Baker and legacy linebacker JP Peace are also committed. More commitments are expected to roll in throughout the offseason as the class heats up, though.
Baker is the latest of a strong string of quarterback commits for Josh Heupel. He’s also landed five-star Faizon Brandon, four-star George MacIntyre, four-star Jake Merklinger and five-star Nico Iamaleava in recent years, among others.
This comes after Tennessee landed the No. 4 class in the country and No. 2 in the SEC via 247 in the 2026 cycle. That group featured five-star Brandon, who is in the running for the starting job this season.
