Tennessee protected its border and went north of the border to compile its best signing class of the Josh Heupel era.
The Volunteers signed 28 football players Wednesday, including five of the top seven prospects in the Volunteer State and a trio of talents from Canada. As of Wednesday evening, Tennessee was No. 7 in the 247Sports.com team rankings for this 2026 recruiting cycle behind Southern California, Oregon, Notre Dame, Alabama, Georgia and Ohio State.
“This was a huge day for the future of our program,” Heupel said Wednesday afternoon in a news conference. “I think our staff did a great job here in state. From the moment I got here, I said it was important for us to go recruit it the right way. We were able to sign the top defensive player in the state, Joel Wyatt, and the top offensive lineman, Gabe Osenda.
“I thought our staff did a great job in bordering states as well. We went into North Carolina and got the top player there. I’m just really proud of what we did.”
Tennessee had the nation’s No. 10 signing class in the 2023 recruiting cycle and the No. 11 class in the 2025 cycle.
The top player from North Carolina is Greensboro five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, who has a 33-1 record as the Grimsley High School starter. The 6-foot-4, 206-pounder was Tennessee’s first commitment for this class, publicizing his nonbinding pledge to the Vols on Aug. 3, 2024.
“Faizon is a great player,” Heupel said. “He’s just explosive and has great touch. He has played at an elite level for a long time. He’s got a great mind and is extremely quick-minded. You combine all those factors, and we’re just really excited about having him in the quarterback room and competing next fall.
“Any time you get a quarterback at that level and is made of the right things, it allows him to develop relationships with guys and help attract them, and he certainly did that.”
Brandon is the nation’s No. 7 overall prospect in the 247Sports composite rankings, one of 11 Tennessee signees who are ranked among the top 175.
The others are receiver Tristen Keys (No. 11) of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, linebacker TJ White (No. 55) of Jackson, Mississippi, safety Joel Wyatt (No. 65) of Shelbyville, Tennessee, linebacker Brayden Rouse (No. 86) of Marietta, Georgia, offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda (No. 90) of Baylor School, receiver Tyreeq King (No. 108) of Knoxville, edge rusher Carter Gooden (No. 147) of Marion, Massachusetts, offensive tackle Kamari Blair (No. 152) of Clarksville, Tennessee, edge rusher Hezekiah Harris (No. 165) of Jemison, Alabama, and receiver Legend Bey (No. 175) of Forney, Texas.
Bey had been committed to Ohio State until flipping and signing with the Vols, who also flipped four-star Indianapolis defensive lineman and Alabama commitment JJ Finch.
“Top-heavy is a fair way to describe this class, but that almost doesn’t do it justice to what they have in the bottom half of this class,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Ryan Callahan said. “You just don’t see a lot of fat in this class in terms of guys who won’t contribute much. There are a lot of good players, but what does stand out the most are the guys at the top.
“Linebacker is one of the strongest position groups in this class. They were firmly in the top 10 going into signing day, and they were able to climb a little higher.”
Gooden and defensive lineman Jordan Carter of Douglasville, Georgia, were also late additions. Gooden had previously been committed to UCLA and Carter to Texas A&M.
Keys had previously been committed to LSU before switching his pledge to the Vols in August. The recent move of Lane Kiffin from Ole Miss to Baton Rouge obviously did not affect his decision.
“There was no smoke whatsoever with him,” Callahan said. “I know Lane Kiffin pulled some late flips when he got to Tennessee in 2009 and has the reputation of being a good enough recruiter to be aggressive and make things happen, especially at a school like LSU, but I just think Tennessee had done a great job there.
“Tristen Keys spent a ton of time in Knoxville this season and made at least four home games after committing. He’s been pretty locked in.”
Tennessee’s lone defection was Salesi Moa of Ogden, Utah, who stayed within his state to play for the Utes.
The success of the Vols within the state is in stark contrast to Heupel’s first December in Knoxville in 2021. Tennessee was under an NCAA investigation for violations that had occurred in the Jeremy Pruitt era, and the Vols didn’t sign any top-10 prospects from within the state and only one in the top 20.
“That was the biggest hurdle for us to overcome,” Heupel said after signing that first class. “The players inside this state heard all of the noise for the 2 1/2 months before I got here.”
Tennessee’s three new signees from Canada are Osenda, Baylor School teammate Jamyan Theodore and Gooden.
“You’re seeing more and more guys come down from Canada, typically to private schools, who are chasing their dreams of playing American football at this level,” Heupel said. “Think about the road and the journey these three guys had to be on to ultimately get to this point. There is so much sacrifice from the families and from the kid moving away from home.
“In some ways, I think that eases the transition to college in some ways for those guys, but you know that they’re hungry to accomplish their goals and dreams, which is what you need inside of your locker room and position rooms.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.