Tennessee Football Recruiting Stays Hot

July is known to produce fireworks, but the recruiting going on in Knoxville has created quite a few explosions throughout the month. The Vols landed commitments on the first and the last day of the month, with plenty others that were sprinkled in between.

Despite what many may feel about the ability of this staff to recruit, they have had pretty wide success, but it appears this class could end up being really special.

Dereon Albert, TJ White, Jamyan Theodore, Javonte Smith, J.B. Shabazz, Darryl Rivers, Jowell Combay, Brayden Rouse, Joel Wyatt, and Salesi Moa round out the month of July for Tennessee football recruiting. The entire staff has done an elite job at closing on many of these commits, but a few coaches are definitely impressing as of now.

Willie Martinez, the defensive backs coach at Tennessee landed three of his top targets in addition to two other guys who could potentially see playing time in the defensive backfield. Martinez is known for describing how he doesn't recruit guys who play corner or safety, he recruits defensive backs. Martinez wants guys who can fluidly play across all the positions in the secondary and that has been the emphasis.

William Inge, the linebackers coach has made a huge impact in his short time under Coach Heupel, and this class is very indicative of that. Landing a pair of linebackers who are both well inside the Top 10 of the position regardless of what site, shows that Inge is aiming at the stars. In the efforts to land Brayden Rouse, Steven Ruzic was a big influential part of landing Rouse, who is from Georgia, just as Ruzic is. The Georgia ties are something serious, especially when you get into those Metro-Atlanta areas. Ruzic plays a vital role in scouting and recruiting for the Vols.

As of yesterday, Kelsey Pope, the wide receivers coach is beginning to catch his stride and further prove his ability to connect and reel in talented players on the perimeter. Already having Legend Bey and in-state priority Tyreek King in the boat, landing Top 5 overall athlete Salesi Moa was a great end of the month. Moa credited Coach Pope being an impact on his decision, but Willie Martinez may get some time with Moa as many on the staff acknowledge the skills to play both ways.

We are a bit distant from signing day and anything can happen between now and then, not to mention the day of surprises that usually take place, but the Vols will do their best to keep their guys in the boat as the pursuit of a few others will continue.

The recruiting efforts will turn back to trying to land an elite RB in Savion Hiter, flips an elite WR Tristen Keys (LSU commit), OL Darius Gray, along with a trio of other committed guys that Tennessee isn't seeming to shy away from.

The next few months will surely be entertaining as the 2026 class begins to really shape and form into a finalized version as time presses towards the December signing period.

Tennessee Football Recruiting Stays Hot

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