The Vols stay hot.
Very quickly now, Tennessee is putting the finishing touches on their 2025 recruiting class. The Volunteers stayed white hot on Tuesday night, landing defensive line target Darrion Smith.
BREAKING: Class of 2025 DL Darrion Smith has Committed to Tennessee, he tells me for @on3recruits
The 6’3 270 DL from Baltimore, MD chose the Vols over Ohio State & Maryland
“I’m home, Go Vols ”https://t.co/OOQnhsZr7B pic.twitter.com/BieVks2d9K
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) July 30, 2024
The Maryland product chose the Volunteers over Ohio State and Maryland. Smith checks in at 6-2, 265 pounds and is rated as a three-star prospect. According to 247Sports, Smith is the 650th ranked prospect in the country and the 18th ranked prospect coming out of the state of Maryland.
Smith is one of those cases where his offer list doesn’t match his recruiting ranking, though. Oklahoma, Michigan, Ole Miss, LSU, USC and Miami were just a few of his other offers. Just a hunch, but I’d assume Smith’s ranking looks a lot better by the time signing day rolls around.
Tennessee got Smith on campus one more time last weekend to seal the deal during their ‘Big Orange Kickoff’ event. He’s the third known commitment coming out of that particular weekend, joining four-star tight end Da’Saahn Brame and four-star safety Lagonza Hayward.
On the field, Smith will likely fit as an interior defensive end. Tennessee will see several defensive lineman exit the program after this season — Omari Thomas, Bryson Eason, Omarr Norman-Lott, Dominic Bailey and Elijah Simmons to name a few — so the door will be open for a completely new rotation in 2025. Smith will likely be asked to put on some weight next spring and summer in preparation to crack that rotation.
With the addition of Smith, Tennessee is up 21 total commits in the class. According to 247Sports, the Vols now rank sixth in the country in the 2025 class rankings. That number could continue to move up with a few top targets still left on the board.