Tennessee Football has been named one of the finalists for a high-end offensive lineman from South Carolina. According to a report from Rivals’ Chad Simmons on Wednesday, Tennessee is one of the final five schools for four-star offensive lineman Nate Carson. Tennessee sits alongside in-state schools South Carolina and Clemson, as well as Texas A&M and nearby Georgia.
The 6-foot-4, 290-pound prospect plays at Irmo High School in Irmo, South Carolina. While it’s not the same high school, he is from the same city as former Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt and former Tennessee defensive back Bryce Thompson. Hyatt and Thompson both played at Dutch Fork High School.
Carson is an impressive recruit out of the 2027 class. Rivals ranks him as the No. 216 player in the class, the No. 14 interior offensive lineman, and the No. 4 player from the state of South Carolina. Carson was in College Station for a visit with the Aggies last week, and reportedly has official visits set up with Tennessee, Clemson, and South Carolina in the near future.
In late March, Carson told Sports Talk Media Network’s Phil Komblut that Tennessee was the favorite at the time. Carson said that he loves Tennessee and loves what the Vols can do, and also says that current UT offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. is someone that he sees as a future first-round draft pick and can learn from. Whether that favorite status has changed or not since his visit to College Station after the interview, Tennessee will still get another crack at impressing the high-end prospect during an official visit in Knoxville.
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Carson posted a picture with Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee on social media on January 23:
@Gelarbee pic.twitter.com/g4bZu7DycS
— Nathan “Nate” Carson (@natecarson09) January 23, 2026
Tennessee currently has six commitments in its 2027 recruiting class, which is ranked 16th in the nation on Rivals. The Vols’ class includes four-star WR Kesean Bowman, four-star OT Princeton Uwaifo, four-star DL Kadin Fife, three-star safety Jaden Butler, three-star linebacker J.P. Peace, and three-star QB Derrick Baker.
The Vols signed four high school offensive linemen during the 2026 cycle, with four-star Gabriel Osenda, four-star Kamari Blair, three-star Edward Baker, and three-star Jeremy George-El. Tennessee also signed former West Virginia offensive lineman Donovan Haslam and former LSU offensive lineman Ory Williams out of the transfer portal during the offseason.
Of note, 247Sports has Carson listed as an offensive tackle and Rivals has him listed as an interior offensive lineman.
Check out some of Nate Carson’s season highlights below:
