Tennessee Football added to its 2027 recruiting class on Saturday with a commitment from four-star tight end Malik Howard. The 6-foot-4 prospect is located just outside of Knoxville and currently plays for Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, TN.
Howard is now ranked as the Vols’ third-highest commitment in the cycle on both 247Sports and Rivals’ services. Rivals Industry Rankings have him tagged as the No. 225 player in the class, the No. 11 tight end in the cycle, and the No. 10 player from the Volunteer State.
Howard’s commitment gave Tennessee a slight boost up the recruiting rankings at the start of the summer months. Rivals has Tennessee’s 10-man class ranked No. 30 in the nation and No. 13 in the SEC, while 247Sports has Tennessee ranked at No. 37 in the nation and No. 10 in the SEC.
There are two big differences between Rivals’ and 247’s views on Tennessee’s class. For one, Rivals has DL commit Kadin Fife tagged as a four-star prospect, while 247 has him as a three-star recruit. The other big difference is that Rivals has longsnapper commit Sam McKeown as a three-star prospect, while 247 has him unranked.
Tennessee has 10 commitments in the 2027 cycle, with Rivals giving the group four four-star players and six three-star players.
Here’s a look at Tennessee’s full recruiting class so far, with Rivals’ star rankings incorporated:
- Four-star WR Kesean Bowman (Brentwood, TN)
- Four-star OT Princeton Uwaifo (Murfreesboro, TN)
- Four-star TE Malik Howard (Oak Ridge, TN)
- Four-star DL Kadin Fife (Summerville, GA)
- Three-star S Jaden Butler (Brownsville, TN)
- Three-star LB JP Peace (Maryville, TN)
- Three-star QB Derrick Baker (Alpharetta, GA)
- Three-star CB Brandon “Slim” Leavell (Madison, TN)
- Three-star CB Carter Jamison (Fairburn, GA)
- Three-star LS Sam McKeown (Jenks, OK)
More From RTI: VFL Alvin Kamara Leaves Not-So-Subtle Message About Why He’s In Knoxville This Weekend
The big fish that many in Vol Nation have been hearing about this week is five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, who is tagged as the No. 13 overall player in Rivals’ rankings. The in-state prospect was in Knoxville for an official visit over the weekend and has a commitment date set for June 22nd.
Gabriel Georges will choose between Ohio State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Georgia.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football recruiting coverage.
