BREAKING: 2028 Four-Star CB Jermaine Cobbins Announces Top 9

Today hasn't started out according to plan for the Tennessee Volunteers. Last night, the team was delayed flying out to College Station for the in-conference showdown with the Texas A&M Aggies.

What was supposed to be a 4 p.m. Eastern departure turned into a near-midnight flight for the Vols.

Despite all of the chaos, the Tennessee football program received some big news on the recruiting front as a top-end athlete has made a cut to his list of schools.

2028 four-star Springfield (TN) CB Jermain Cobbins has included the Tennessee Vols in a Top 9.

The Big Orange will join Florida, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, Auburn, and Oregon in the battle for the services of the talented in-state priority. This list is in no specific order.

This announcement was made official by Grass Roots Network as Cobbins joined the set to break the news.

The cast was also joined by NPA (National PlayMakers Academy) CEO Buck Fitzgerald and NPA Director of Scouting Hunter Denote.

The full podcast episode will be included at the end.

What led to the Vols making the cut?

Anthony Poindexter's X profile picture | Anthony Poindexter

"Man, it's just a great environment; it's the in-state school. You know, it's just great all-around right there. Just a great program, great coaches, and all," Cobbins tells Vols on SI in short about what helped Tennessee crack the list.

Speaking of the great coaches, it is fair to credit the job that Anthony Poindexter has done an outstanding job at rekindling the flame between Cobbins and the university.

As the Vols were in the process of switching defensive coordinators and rotating assistants, as soon as Poindexter took the job, Cobbins was one of, if not the first player to contact.

The initial relationship began while Poindexter was still at Penn State, and that relationship played a huge role in the reconnection.

Everything would seemingly come to a point a few weeks back when Cobbins made his return to Knoxville for a game day visit as the hated rival Alabama rolled in to receive a 26-10 loss.

During the visit, Poindexter made a game-changing decision to get the team's cornerback coach, Derek Jones, involved in the recruitment as Poindexter has been the lead man for a while.

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The biggest thing about the visit that gave Cobbins some reassurance to add the Vols to the Top 9.

"Really, just talking to the head coach and the DC, and you know how they said they was going to play me and stuff like that. I love how they was talking all of that stuff right there," Cobbins said.

It was good for the Springfield (TN) stand out to hear the staff speak on utilization, as Cobbins is a pure corner, and hearing that the Vols have the same vision was soothing for the talented four-star.

Anticipation will build around the March and April visits as Cobbins is likely to hammer in visits to the Top 9, which will include the parents being present and taking a close look at each candidate school with their coveted son.

The 6-foot, 180-pound defender has the frame and potential to play very early at the next level if the right coach lands his commitment and has the opportunity to properly develop Cobbins.

Full Episode

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