Tennessee football adds commitment from elite 2023 OL Shamurad Umarov

A successful week on the recruiting trail continues for Tennessee football, and the Vols picked up their sixth commitment in seven days on Friday, fifth for 2023. This time, they picked up an offensive lineman from Georgia after losing out on Francis Mauigoa to the Miami Hurricanes earlier in the week.

Shamurad Umarov, a four-star on 247Sports and ESPN and a three-star on Rivals and On3 out of Denmark High School in Alpharetta, Ga., has committed to UT. Standing at 6’6″ and weighing in the range of 290 to 340 pounds, Umarov is listed as an offensive tackle across the board.

Despite the mixed star ratings for the Fulton County prospect, he is a four-star on both 247Sports Composite and On3 consensus. He chose Rocky Top over the Michigan State Spartans, LSU Tigers and Georgia Bulldogs, announcing his commitment to Tennessee football Friday on Twitter.

Alpharetta is developing a solid pipeline to the Vols. Most notably, Joshua Dobbs came from there, but 2022 commitment Mo Clipper Jr. also hails from there. Umarov is continuing that trend, and Clipper is an offensive lineman just like he is.

Following Ayden Bussell, who committed at the end of January, Umarov is the second offensive lineman in the Vols’ 2022 class. With Jerome Carvin certain to be gone after this year and Darnell Wright and Jeremiah Crawford possibly gone, Josh Heupel is about to need help at that position.

Taking that into account, Umarov is a great pickup for the Vols. The range in his weight is a question, but Heupel’s offensive system allows for flexibility in terms of size up front, so Umarov should fit in. Here is a look at his highlight reel.

As you can see, Umarov is great at maintaining his blocks and being a downfield blocker, making run blocking his strength despite him playing tackle. That makes him a great fit for Heupel’s system, which spreads the field but focuses on the run.

With Umarov’s commitment, Tennessee football now has 16 players in its 2023 class, and they may not be done. They also have five players from the state of Georgia, which ties the state of Tennessee itself for the most players in the class.