The recruiting season is beginning to heat up as official visits are starting to be set in stone and commitments continue to be made. For Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel, there is still a lot of work to be done as the Vols only have nine commitments in the Class of 2027.
There is one recruit that Tennessee is really high on as a hometown recruit, but the Vols have a big battle on their hands with a few other heavyweight college football programs. Malik Howard is a four-star tight end recruit out of Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and one that big programs like Alabama, Notre Dame, and Oregon are after.
Howard has a few visits coming up, with Tennessee on the list, but the biggest push could come from SEC foe Alabama.
Kalen DeBoer will be hot on the trail for Malik Howard and Josh Heupel must get there first
Alabama just lost out on tight end commit Colt Cumpris after the four-star recruit flipped from the Crimson Tide to Michigan and Kyle Whittingham. Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is not one who will sit around too long before making his next move, and Howard has to be at the top of his list.
After losing a tight end recruit, it makes sense to go find the next guy, and that could very well be Howard for Alabama. Howard is set for an official visit with the Crimson Tide this upcoming weekend, and while that may sound like bad news for the Vols, it could be worse. Tennessee has the advantage of hosting Howard for an official visit the following weekend of June 5.
Heupel being able to get with Howard shortly after his visit to Alabama is huge in terms of getting him with the Vols. However, Heupel and Tennessee need to be careful because Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame still loom as a threat to get Howard.
Howard is set for an official visit to Notre Dame on June 12, and it looks like it could be his final one as he doesn't have one set with Oregon at this time. Freeman and DeBoer are going to throw everything they can at the four-star tight end, but Heupel will have to use some recruiting magic of his own to get the hometown kid to stay.
The loss Alabama suffered with Lumpris doesn't help Tennessee, but Heuepl has to prove he is the recruiter he claimed to be when he came to Knoxville. Being able to land homegrown recruits is something he has to be able to do going forward, and it could all start with Howard.
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