Tennessee football makes cut for elite in-state 2022 Wade brothers

Nearly two months ago, with Josh Heupel on the job for less than two weeks, Tennessee football made athlete Destin Wade’s top nine but was left off outside linebacker Keaton Wade’s top nine. Well, things have changed since then, and the Vols are now back in the mix for both.

The 2022 brothers out of Summit High School in Spring Hill, Tenn. each have UT in their top four now. Destin Wade is a three-star on 247Sports but a four-star on Rivals. Keaton Wade is a four-star across the board.

Both players had the same schools on their list. Joining Tennessee football were the Louisville Cardinals, Virginia Cavaliers and Kentucky Wildcats. They announced their schools on Twitter Friday morning, with Destin Wade saying a commitment is coming soon.

Between the two players, one is the highly touted prospect, but the other will generate more headlines because of his potential position. Destin Wade, the lesser rated one, is likely to be recruited as a dual-threat quarterback.

Standing between 36’3″ and 6’4″ and weighing somewhere between 195 and 205 pounds, Destin Wade could be the quarterback Heupel builds his future around. That’s a big story surrounding Heupel’s early tenure on Rocky Top given his expertise and his system, and he hasn’t secured a commitment himself at the position yet.

On the other hand, Keaton Wade would still be a huge pickup for UT. It’s no secret that this team has issues at linebacker. Standing between 6’4″ and 6’5″ and weighing somewhere between 215 and 225 pounds, he could come in and be an immediate contributor.

Why Keaton Wade left the Vols off his original list is unclear. However, it likely has something to do with the coaching change that took place at the time. Jeremy Pruitt had just been fired, and Heupel, an offensive-oriented guy, was just getting started. Perhaps the new defensive staff was able to make an impact on him. If so, that’s great news for Big Orange Country.

Right now, Kentucky is a unanimous favorite to land both players on the Rivals Future Cast, but the Vols are the unanimous favorite to land both of them on the 247Sports Crystal Ball. UT is the majority favorite for both of them on the Rivals Fan Future Cast.

Given their communication and retweeting of each others’ lists, you have to think they’ll end up at the same school. Can Tennessee football fight off the Wildcats along with the other two programs on the list? Landing these guys as their first two commitments for 2022 would be a huge boost and get things off on the right foot. Things aren’t looking so bad right now.