Unfortunately, Tennessee football is still reeling a little bit following the disheartening 37-20 loss to Alabama on the road over the weekend. The Vols were in a great spot to keep things close and potentially win, but the 14-point swing on the Joey Aguilar pick-six was way too much to overcome.
Kalen DeBoer was all smiles after that Bama win and he quietly pulled a pretty smart recruiting move on the Vols before kickoff too. That's because Alabama brought in 5-star wide receiver Kesean Bowman, a top Tennessee target, for an unofficial visit.
This play alone shows how awful the Tennessee defense was against Alabama
Before the action got underway, DeBoer also put an offer on the table. With the stadium packed, Bowman was surely excited about his new tender, and then he also witnessed the Crimson Tide dominating the Vols in primetime. It was a perfect recipe for DeBoer and his staff and not good for Josh Heupel:
Extremely blessed to receive an offer from The University of Alabama 🐘⚪️🔴 @CoachShephard @KalenDeBoer @ChadSimmons_ @SWiltfong_ @TomLoy247 pic.twitter.com/2weE1yt7Wf
— Kesean Bowman (@K3B02) October 18, 2025
Alabama's offer for Kesean Bowman is one to watch moving forward
Bowman was previously committed to Oregon, but he had a change of heart and decided to open up his recruitment. Shortly after he decided to open things back up, he quickly scheduled a visit to Knoxville and it made an impact on him.
Since then, the Vols have been deemed a team to watch moving forward for the speedster, as he's an in-state target and he's also clearly quite interested in potentially playing for Coach Heupel. However, Alabama is also giving him a lot to think about, which is not ideal for the Vols.
According to the 247Sports Composite, Bowman is ranked five stars, the No. 5 wide receiver in the country and No. 31 player nationally for the 2027 class. He's up to 41 offers, with teams across the nation putting in serious work to land him.
Had you asked us just a couple of weeks ago, we would have said that Tennessee was in the driver's seat and a serious threat to land his commitment. While that still might be the case, Alabama has entered the race and Vols fans would hate it if he ends up being Tucsaloosa-bound over Knoxville.