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4-star EDGE commits to Tennessee over 27 others in huge Vols recruiting win

Josh Heupel with another big commitment!
Braulio Perez
Braulio Perez

All for Tennessee

Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel during a NCAA football game between Tennessee and UTEP in Neyland Stadium on Saturday, November 23, 2024. / Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It feels like a stretch run of commitments is on the way for the Tennessee football team. Things have started off with a bang on Friday, with a highly-touted pass-rusher deciding to shut down his recruitment. Yup, he'll be playing his college ball in the SEC.

Moments ago, news broke that 4-star EDGE Kedric Golston II has officially committed to Tennessee and head man Josh Heupel. Boom! Golston was in Knoxville earlier this month for his official visit and there was plenty of buzz that he'd end up picking UT. That was just confirmed and this is no question a big-time recruiting win for the Vols staff:

4-star EDGE and Georgia legacy Kedric Golston II has committed to Tennessee

When Golston made his way to campus for his OV, it was clear that Heupel and Tennessee made him feel like a priority. Defensive coordinator Tim Banks and Co. surely made it known to him that he'd be able to make a lot of plays in their system too.

Throughout his recruitment, the newest Tennessee pledge picked up 28 offers. He took other official visits to Rutgers and Virginia Tech, while Georgia was also showing strong interest in him. He had offers from all those schools, while Miami, Florida, Maryland, Kentucky and many others also put a tender on the table. The fact that Golson was a UGA legacy too has plenty of Dawgs fans shaking their heads.

With Golston on board, Heupel is now up to nine known verbal commits for the 2026 class, which is ranked No. 55 in the country according to 247Sports. However, it truly does feel like a bunch of additional pledges are going to be on the way for Heupel.

On July 1 alone, top 4-star targets TJ White and Dereon Albert will be announcing their college decisions. Both have been predicted to pick Tennessee over a boatload of other offers. A lot of people have a close eye on Savion Hiter and Tristen Keys as well. This latest update on Golston is major, but Vols fans should mentally get ready for even more head-turning news to arrive soon too.

Braulio Perez

Braulio Perez

Braulio Perez is an NCAA Content Director for FanSided, joining Minute Media in 2017 after 2.5 years at the Newark Star-Ledger as a high school sports reporter and 2.5 years at the Lynden Tribune as sports editor. While with the Lynden Tribune, Perez was named the Sports Writer of the Year in 2012 for his division by the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association. At the Star-Ledger, he also assisted in coverage of college football recruiting. Perez's focus has been on college football recruiting, high school sports, the NFL, NCAA and English Premier League. He is also a regular contributor for 247Sports' Cougfan.com.