Talk about getting the respect he deserves. Earlier this month when in-state athlete Zaydyn Anderson announced his commitment to the Tennessee football team, he did so as a 3-star prospect. The feeling was he flew under the radar this cycle.
That's no longer the case. This week, 247Sports came out with its new rankings and to say Anderson shot up would be a complete and total understatement. As things stand, the 5-11, 165-pounder is now a 4-star commit, the No. 5 player from Tennessee, No. 17 ATH in the country and No. 225 prospect overall for the 2026 class. Wow.
Anderson was previously ranked lower than 1400 nationally
— Vol Scoops (@VolScoops) July 16, 2025
Just to give y’all a perspective of how big of a bump this is 🔥 https://t.co/txf4UrvVso
Tennessee commit Zaydyn Anderson is now one of the top athletes in the country
This is a jump that's wild to even think about. Hey, clearly Anderson is a stud and now he's getting the kind of national recognition that he was hoping for. Also, remember when all the Tennessee haters out there fired off their 'another 3-star commit' comments?
They've got nothing to say now, do they? Anderson announced his commitment to the Vols back on June 28. Heupel has of course been on fire this summer recruiting wise, as plenty of more commitments have been received this month.
Anderson wasn't the only one to get good news with these 247Sports rankings, as quarterback Faizon Brandon remained a 5-star prospect and the No. 1 prospect in the country. Plenty of headlines were made earlier in the week when Brandon lost his fifth star on Rivals and dropped out of the Top 25.
That surely wasn't the case with 247Sports. Looking ahead to the rest of the summer, the hope is more big-time pledges will be on the way for Heupel. Out of nowhere on Wednesday, however, the class gained a new 4-star pledge thanks to the bump for Anderson. It was something he no question deserved and he'll now have some extra pep in his step for his upcoming senior year with Greeneville High.