Official visit season kicks into high gear for Tennessee this week, with three recruits heading to Knoxville on Thursday. Those visits are coming at a good time, too, because despite having a few blue-chip players locked into the 2027 class, Josh Heupel’s eight-player group ranks just 29th in the country.Â
The eighth commit joined the fray on Monday night, as in-state three-star defensive back Brandon Leavell chose the Volunteers. Leavell is one of Thursday’s visitors, along with Mavin Nguetsop and Carter Jones. Maybe Leavell’s commitment can help sway Nguetsop and Jones in Tennessee’s direction.Â
While Thursday gets things started, Tennessee has three more visitors scheduled for Friday and five more official visit dates in June. Things are about to get very busy for Heupel and his staff as they look for a solid encore performance to last cycle’s top-10 class. And while there isn’t much certainty, there are a few targets who appear more likely than the rest to commit to Tennessee this spring.Â
The 6-foot-7, 275-pound edge rusher plays his high school football at St. Thomas More High School in Oakdale, Connecticut, but he hails originally from Germany, and his parents live outside of Düsseldorf. A bit of an unconventional prospect, Nguetsop has major upside with his ridiculous frame and will enter college as a raw piece of moldable clay.Â
His size may eventually force him to move inside full-time, but if not, he’ll have the versatility to slide down the line on pass-rush downs to use his speed against interior offensive linemen. In his junior year, he played too upright on the edge and didn’t showcase great bend. Those aren’t necessarily problems for Jim Knowles, who likes oversized edge rushers who use power rushes to make a straight line to the quarterback.Â
Nguetsop will be on campus this week, and while Ole Miss and Michigan are in the mix, Tennessee is probably a slight favorite.Â
Tennessee pushed hard for five-star running back Savion Hiter in the 2026 class, but the Virginia native ultimately opted for Michigan, where he’s likely to take over as the starter in Year 1. Heupel still has DeSean Bishop coming off a 1,000-yard, 16-touchdown season in the backfield for his junior year, but the future of the position is uncertain after failing to add another back in last year’s cycle.Â
While it doesn’t necessarily need to be a five-star or immediate contributor, Tennessee must add a talented running back in the 2027 class, and the Martin, Tennessee native would fit the bill.Â
Barnes is the 36th-ranked running back in the country by Rivals Industry and currently has official visits scheduled for Arkansas, Kentucky, USC, and Tennessee. Heupel has the in-state advantage in this race, and that, along with Tennessee’s need at the position, should loom large over the proceedings.Â
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound linebacker from Chicago recently named his top five as he set official visits for Clemson, Indiana, Missouri, Notre Dame, and Tennessee. The Irish will certainly be a major player for his commitment, and are currently listed as the slight favorites over Tennessee by Rivals’ prediction machine. Still, Heupel and his revamped defensive staff will have an opportunity to make up ground during his June 19 visit, the last on his spring itinerary.Â
Of the three players in this list, there is probably still the most work to do for Igwebuike, but he’s spoken positively about the staff, including linebackers coach William Inge. Inge is a holdover from Tim Banks’s staff, so Igwebuike has had more recruiting continuity than most.
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