With just two days until the highly anticipated commitment for elite 2027 running back David Gabriel Georges, a new recruiting bombshell has landed on Monday to shake up the landscape.
On3 recruiting insider Pete Nakos released a new prediction for Tennessee Football to land the five-star running back out of Baylor School in Chattanooga to start the week, tagged with a 70% confidence level. Gabriel Georges will officially announce his commitment on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports/247Sports.
This is a massive development in Tennessee’s favor in the final stretch before the announcement. While Tennessee had reportedly gained momentum coming out of an official visit in June, no On3 insider was willing to drop a prediction for Josh Heupel’s Vols. That was until Monday, at least.
Gabriel Georges has received three Ohio State predictions, but it’s been a while since they were locked in. Those three predictions came in April and early June. Since then, it’s been quiet on the prediction front as analysts tried to see which way the elite prospect was leaning.
As we get closer to the final 48 hours, though, Nakos’ prediction to Tennessee – the first prediction to any school in the last 47 days – carries a ton of weight. While the prediction doesn’t guarantee that anything will happen, he is one of the top recruiting insiders in the sport with a strong track record. A 70% confidence level also raises an eyebrow, too.
Gabriel Georges has a Top 3 finalists list of Tennessee, Ohio State, and Ole Miss, though reports suggest that the main race is between the Volunteers and the Buckeyes. It’s been talked about as one of the fiercest battles in the 2027 class as teams slug it out to make their case.
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Gabriel Georges is a consensus five-star prospect across the three major publications with Rivals, ESPN, and 247Sports. Rivals’ Industry Rankings have him tabbed as the No. 9 player in the class, the No. 2 running back in the cycle, and the No. 1 player from The Volunteer State.
The coveted prospect spoke about the difficulty of making the decision with On3’s Chris Low on July 13.
“It’s hard. You feel this way, like you know, and then it’s sort of 50-50,” Gabriel Georges said. “People will say the 22nd of July is far off, but honestly for me, it’s pretty close.”
Tennessee Football has produced three straight 1,000-yard rushers under head coach Josh Heupel. Jaylen Wright ran for 1,013 yards in 2023, Dylan Sampson broke UT records with 1,491 yards in 2024, and former walk-on running back DeSean Bishop reached 1,076 yards this past season. Bishop returns to the Vols this season and will have a chance to build on his breakout campaign in 2025.
“Both programs I think feel great about where they stand because of what they have to offer,” Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong said in early July, referring to the Vols and Buckeyes. “And for Tennessee, immediate starting job, number zero, a chance to be a legend is what his uncle highlighted this week in my conversation with him. Someone that could help bring Tennessee back to the forefront of college football and how special that would be, how a legacy like that would be remembered in Knoxville, alongside guys like Peyton Manning, it would be pretty special. And the relationship with Coach Heupel and the rest of the staff is second-to-none, and having relationships with players on the team, guys from Canada, it’s exciting.”
Tennessee Football currently has 16 commitments in the 2027 cycle, which ranks 34th in the nation on Rivals. The Vols’ current top-ranked commit is four-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman, who is ranked as the No. 65 player in the nation. The Vols have three Top 200 commits with Bowman, four-star LB Kenneth Simon II (No. 146), and four-star OT Princeton Uwaifo (No. 192).
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more recruiting coverage leading into David Gabriel Georges’ commitment on July 22.
