Tennessee football continues recruiting surge with flip of Dayon Cooper from FSU

What a day for Tennessee! Josh Heupel keeps the momentum rolling with a big recruiting weekend, landing two four-star commits in Kenneth Simon III and Q’mari Hudson, along with a major 2027 addition in athlete Dayon Cooper.

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Tennessee made him a priority in the class but ultimately lost him to Florida State. However, after a big official visit , Tennessee kept chipping away at Cooper and has now sealed the deal, landing his commitment and completing the flip, making him a part of the class.

Tennessee lands big-time ATH Dayon Cooper

Heupel has done it again. Why not take a Florida State commit? At this point, he's been on fire on the recruiting trail, and Tennessee keeps proving people wrong, confirming it's been the hottest team in the nation over the last 10 days. Since June started, the Vols have been a consistent force in recruiting and have completely changed the trajectory of the 2027 class. Say what you want about Miek Norvell as an on-the-field coach, but he has consistently done an admirable job recruiting, and Tennessee taking one from him is big.

This is one of my personal favorite gets in the entire class. Cooper isn’t the highest-rated recruit and doesn’t have a ton of elite offers, but he’s just a baller. That’s not to say his offer list is bad, as Tennessee still beat out Florida State and Oklahoma State for his commitment, two solid programs, but none of the true blue bloods were heavily involved, which is fine.

Cooper fits well in Knoxville

What I like most about Cooper is his versatility. He can come to campus and play as a cornerback or a wide receiver, and wherever he fits best is where the staff will use him. He has straight-line speed, good change of direction, and the size to be a solid SEC player. When you have an athlete like this in your backyard, you have to make sure you get him in the class.

At South Pittsburg High School, Cooper won Division 1A Mr. Football as a junior after posting 1,252 yards and 17 touchdowns as a versatile offensive player. He was also a strong cornerback on defense, playing lockdown coverage and tackling with intensity. He's a great fit for the Vols because he can play on defense in Knowles ' scheme, or Cooper can fit in the Tennessee offense as a gadget player. There's no such thing as too many athletes in the field.

With Cooper now in the fold, Tennessee has 16 commits, mostly high three-stars with high ceilings along with several strong four-star additions. This class is quietly becoming very solid, even if it doesn’t have the star power of the 2026 class, which was the best Josh Heupel has brought in since arriving in Knoxville.

With a strong finish this class could help get the Vols back to the national stage.

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