Could the Vols make a run at a top-5 class?
After wrangling up 11 prospects in June and July — seven of which were four-stars, Tennessee’s had another strong month in August (despite it being a dead period in recruiting and means that coaches can’t have any in-person contact with prospects) with the commitments of c/o ‘26 QB Faizon Brandon in early August, 2025 five-star David Sanders Jr., on 8/15/24 and 2025 four-star LB Jaedon Harmon on 8/17/24.
Brandon’s commitment likely doesn’t have any bearing on how the ‘25 will turn out, but Sanders’ and Harmon’s does. The Vols beat out Georgia and Ohio State for Sanders, a VA., native, then flipped Harmon, who’s from GA., from Alabama. Not a bad weekend.
Sanders gave the Vols their first, current five-star commitment of the class, since QB George MacIntyre lost his fifth star some time ago. Here are Sander’s rankings via the major recruiting sites (he’s a consensus five-star):
On3: No. 6 rated player overall, No. 2 OT, No. 1 player in VA, 98 “rating.”
247 Sports: No. 3 rated player overall, No. 1 OT, No. player in VA, 98 “rating.”
ESPN: No. 4 rated player overall, No. 1 OT, No. 1 player in VA, 91 “rating.”
Rivals: No. 3 rated players overall, No. 1 OT, No. 1 player in VA, 6.1 “rating.”
Tennessee was well-placed throughout Sanders’ recruitment, and the Vols were thought to be the leader for sometime. Not that he was a lock to UT, but most felt the staff had the program at least in as good of position as any of his finalists. You can read more on Sanders here.
Harmon’s flip was a bit more of a surprise on the surface, especially given the coaching change at linebacker and the departure of Harmon’s lead recruiter, Brian Jean-Mary, earlier in the year. But according to an On3 article, Tennessee got to Harmon early in his recruiting journey, which obviously paid dividends.
“Even when I had no offers, I went down there,” Harmon said. “And they had treated me the same as they treat me now. It was equal, and that is a big part to me,”
That’s an important, recurring theme with how this staff approaches recruiting. It identifies players early and builds genuine relationships. This aspect of the job is paramount, perhaps even more so in the NIL/ transfer portal era.
Despite the position coach change, and young LB’s verbal commitment to Alabama, Vols’ Head Coach Josh Heupel has personally stayed involved with Harmon’s recruitment.
“Coach Heupel is a great dude,” Harmon said. “He texts me just about every day and checks in on me. You can tell he really cares about you as a player and stuff like that.”
Via a 247 Sports article, After Jean-Mary’s departure, Harmon said Heupel reassured him that he was still a focal point in the class Tennessee was building.
“He was just saying I’m still their main guy, and that (they were) going to bring a great guy in, so there’s nothing to worry about,” Harmon said at the time,
I would give the whole staff some credit here for weathering the storm of Jean Mary’s return to Michigan. Tennessee was likely Harmon’s leader before Jean-Mary left in March of this year, and Harmon committed to Alabama not long after, in April.
But that left plenty of time for William Inge to step in and start working on getting Harmon back in the fold.
“He just has a great personality,” Harmon said about Inge. “I love being around him and talking to him. He is really a football genius to be honest with you. He knows what he is doing and you can just look at his pedigree and where he has been. He’s a great coach.”
I’m sure Coach Chop, Levorn Harbin, whose official title is “Senior Defensive Analyst,” played a major role here, too. Harbin has been a tremendous asset to Tennessee’s staff, was a major factor in James Pearce’s signing and has had an impact on numerous commitments on the defensive side of the ball.
Harmon’s a consensus four-star player and gives the Vols their 12th four-star this cycle.
Though his ratings fluctuate depending on which site you prefer, The GA., native gives Tennessee the second linebacker it was looking for in the 2025 class to go along with fellow Georgia LB, Christian Gass and helps the Vols in the national recruiting standings.
Sanders’ Jr., and Harmon’s commitments have bolstered UT into:
Sixth nationally, fourth in the SEC, per On3
Sixth nationally and fourth in the SEC, per 247Sports and its composite rankings
Seventh nationally and fourth in the SEC, per Rivals
ESPN’s class rankings are behind a paywall, and I didn’t feel like finding a work around.
The Vols are still waiting on four-star (via the 247 Composite rankings) South Carolina CB Onis Konanbanny to announce on August 23rd, and I’m sure the staff is still working on a handful of other players. Konanbanny currently has three crystal ball predictions, all to UT.
Regardless, Tennessee summer months have put it right in the thick of things on a national scale. While it’s impossible to truly judge classes until two-to-three years down the road, Heupel and staff are showing they can recruit at this level, with 2025 looking like it could be the best group of Heup’s tenure, so far. All he has to do now is, ya know, win games.