A really interesting situation.
Tennessee added another name to their class of 2024 on Friday evening, as Jeremias Heard joined the group. The under-the-radar defensive line prospect announced his commitment via Twitter.
1000% Committed ⚫️
Let’s go VOL Nation #GBO pic.twitter.com/BeNrv7IAaJ— Jeremias heard (@jeremias_heard) April 21, 2023
This is an interesting one. Heard played football for the first time last year since the eighth grade, so he’s not a name that teams have been chasing for multiple years. Tennessee sent out an offer back in December, and since then, teams like Alabama and Georgia have been sniffing around.
The Volunteers getting in early here paid off today, as Heard picked Tennessee despite the rising interest from others.
Heard checks in at 6-8, 293 pounds. He dropped football after his eighth grade year to focus on basketball, which now appears to be the correct decision. Tennessee is still his only offer to this point.
According to 247Sports, Heard ranks just outside of the top 1,000 prospects in the country. Based on the interest, you can probably expect that number to move over the next several months.
Obviously, Heard will enter his college career very raw as a football player. But that size and length will offer plenty of upside, especially with Rodney Garner coaching him up.
Following Heard’s announcement, Tennessee’s class moved up to No. 8 in the country, per 247Sports. The Volunteers now have ten commitments in the group.