Tennessee football expected to miss out on another 5-star target this week

It's looking like it's going to be a week to forget out on the recruiting trail for the Tennessee football team and head man Josh Heupel. First, 5-star running back Savion Hiter committed to Michigan on Tuesday which was a major bummer.

On Friday, fellow elite prospect Darius Gray, a 5-star offensive lineman, will be announcing his college decision as well. Tennessee is a finalist and the Vols sure made an impact on him during his June official visit. However, the latest intel continues to make everyone believe that Gray is going to pick South Carolina. Obviously, this would be another piece of negative news for the staff:

South Carolina appears in the driver's seat to land 5-star OL Darius Gray

Earlier this summer, it was reported that the Gamecocks had the edge, but that LSU was also another team that was standing out among his finalists. From our chair, it feels like maybe the Vols have accepted defeat and have decided to focus on other linemen high on their board.

Tennessee currently holds three known pledges from offensive linemen, highlighted of course by 5-star offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda. In addition to Osenda, 4-star OT J.B. Shabazz is also on board and so is 3-star interior lineman Edward Baker.

The cupboard most certainly isn't bare in terms of OL commits, but that doesn't change the fact that Vols fans were hoping that Heupel and Danny White (NIL speaking) would be able to pull a rabbit out of their hat and pull off a last-minute stunner.

Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that's how things are going to go down. In the end, this could prove to be a battle between LSU and South Carolina. Our gut feeling tells us that Shane Beamer and Co. are going to get some good news on Friday, while Heupel is going to swing and miss. It will cause some Vols fans to shake their heads, but don't let it make you forget about how loaded this class is thus far.