One of the best names and one of the biggest bodies in the 2021 college football recruiting cycle is heading to Tennessee.
J'Marion Gooch, a 6-foot-8, 358-pound offensive tackle from The King's Academy in the Knoxville suburb of Seymour, gave the Volunteers a nonbinding pledge Monday afternoon. Gooch had been committed to Auburn since April.
Revealing the switch on Twitter, Gooch posted a message that read, "Thank you to the Auburn community and coaching staff for all of the support during this process. After much thought and consideration, I have decided"
Gooch finished his message through a highlight video that ended with him stating, "Go Vols."
Tennessee's 25th commitment for its 2021 class is the No. 68 offensive tackle nationally and the No. 790 prospect overall in the 247Sports.com composite rankings. Gooch is the first commitment for the Vols since July 30, when they landed cornerback Damarius McGhee from Pensacola, Florida.
The Vols have the No. 6 class, according to 247Sports, behind Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Clemson and Oregon.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.