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Tennessee football makes cut for elite 2023 Maryland edge Dylan Gooden

By Caleb Calhoun

Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 1, 2018; Charlotte, NC, USA; A Tennessee Volunteers helmet is seen pregame before the game against the West Virginia Mountaineers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports /
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They aren’t done with 2022 yet, but Josh Heupel already has Tennessee football trending for elite 2023 prospects, and he’s going national in the process. Recently, he got them trending for an elite weakside defensive end out of Maryland.

UT is in edge rusher Dylan Gooden’s top eight. A four-star across the board out of Our Lady Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md., which is part of Montgomery County, just outside Washington, D.C., Gooden stands between 6’4″ and 6’6″ and weighs in the range of 200 and 205 pounds.

Joining Tennessee football on Gooden’s list are the Maryland Terrapins, Penn State Nittany Lions, West Virginia Mountaineers, Texas A&M Aggies, Michigan State Spartans, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Miami Hurricanes. He announced the schools Monday afternoon on Twitter.

As of right now, the Vols are loaded at edge rusher. Byron Young, Tyler Baron and Roman Harrison should all be back in 2022. All three could be on the roster by 2023 as well, and the Vols have two other edge rushers, Joshua Josephs and James Pearce, committed for this upcoming class.

Simply put, Tim Banks should have a lot of guys to rotate over the next couple years. However, Young and Harrison will both be gone after 2023 at the latest, and Baron could be gone, so Heupel will need to rebuild his depth there.

Gooden is clearly a guy who could help them rebuild that depth. On most sites, he is a top five player within his home state, reaching No. 2 on 247Sports, and he’s a top 40 player at his position across the board.

Currently, there are no favorites to land him on the Rivals Future Cast or the 247Sports Crystal Ball. The Ole Miss Rebels were a plurality favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast, but that’s not a concern for anybody anymore since they didn’t make the cut.

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On3 has WVU as the favorite by a plurality, and Tennessee football is tied for second with Maryland and Penn State. That would seem to suggest the Vols are in a decent position, and if they can make more of a splash next year, they could land him. There’s plenty of time.

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