Tennessee Football Lands Underrated Defensive Lineman Commit

The Tennessee Volunteers have done a great job when it comes to the college football recruiting scene as of late, as they landed two major targets on Saturday, including a late-night surprise for the Vols. The Vols landed tight end Malik Howard earlier in the day, as Howard is one of the better players in the state of Tennessee, and one of the better tight ends in the class of 2027 as a whole.

Christian Mays Commits to Tennessee Football

Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel speaks with media during the Big Orange Caravan held at the Riverdance Restaurant in Guild, Tenn., on April 28, 2026. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In their late-night surprise, the Tennessee Volunteers landed Christian Mays, who is a defensive lineman from the JUCO scene. Mays is a three-star defensive lineman from Northeast Mississippi Community College and is in Lakewood, Colorado. He was just one of the many visitors on campus for the official visits, but he was one of the more underrated players on a visit. Although he was underrated and will continue to be underrated, three college teams were in the running, but in the end, the Vols did enough to secure his commitment.

The schools he was looking into included the Arkansas Razorbacks, the Tennessee Volunteers, and the Mississippi State Bulldogs. This was a big get for the Vols, as he is just the 11th commitment for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers in the 2027 class. Tennessee will continue to hold out hope that it will land more prospects from this visit, including their top remaining target and the top target in the class of 2027, David Gabriel-Georges, who is a running back from Canada and an in-state target, considering he plays for the Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

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