In the span of only a few days, some fantastic Tennessee football recruiting news has come in for Josh Heupel and his coaching staff. The list now includes offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda, an in-state pledge, now being ranked a 5-star prospect.
Wait, what? That's right, 247Sports has updated its rankings for the 2026 class and Osenda has gone from a 4-star playmaker to being a 5-star guy. With the new update, Osenda is now one of the top tackles in the country. It goes without saying, but this is phenomenal news for the program:
Tennessee commit Gabriel Osenda is now a 5-star playmaker per 247Sports
Osenda is clearly pretty darn excited about this and no one can blame him for it. He committed to Tennessee back in January ranked four stars and the No. 70 prospect in the nation. That all has since change for him.
Now, Osenda is the No. 4 offensive tackle in the land and the No. 19 prospect overall for the 2026 class. Throughout his recruitment, the 6-7, 330-pounder has picked up 28 offers, but he chose the Vols over Florida, South Carolina and Minnesota as his other finalists.
With Osenda on board for Heupel, this now gives him a 5-star OT for the second consecutive cycle. For 2025, David Sanders Jr. signed with the Vols, as Tennessee was able to withstand a late push from Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes. There was worry Sanders would flip, but that didn't happen.
This is also exciting news for Faizon Brandon, as he has some 5-star company for the '26 haul. Brandon is ranked the No. 1 quarterback and he's got to feel pretty good knowing that both Sanders and Osenda will be blocking for him in the future. Wideout Tyreek King is also on the way for the Vols and he just shut down his recruitment and told Heupel he won't be entertaining other programs. The positive recruiting news sure is great for the staff.