The good news kept rolling into Knoxville as the Tennessee Volunteers and head coach Josh Heupel got yet another promising update on a blue-chip prospect's recruiting journey.
Four-star running back Andrew Beard, a recruit in the class of 2027 out of Georgia, included the Vols in his final four schools under consideration, alongside the Georgia Bulldogs, the Clemson Tigers, and the Florida Gators.
While a lot of recruiting experts are leaning toward his home-state team landing him, Heupel and staff are basically quoting Dumb and Dumber and saying, "So, you're telling me there's a chance."
RB Andrew Beard includes Vols in Top 4
Beard is the No. 4 running back and No. 63 overall prospect in the class of 2027. So, unsurprisingly, he has received a lot of interest from teams across the country.
So far, the four-star running back has taken advantage of the recruiting process, taking 45 unofficial visits to various programs, and has four official visits scheduled for this summer.
Andrew Beard official visit schedule
- Clemson Tigers - May 29
- Florida Gators - June 4
- Georgia Bulldogs - June 12
- Tennessee Volunteers - June 19
The best news for Heupel and the Volunteers is that they are last on Beard's visitation schedule, meaning that they could have the benefit of recency bias on their side when it comes to the young running back actually making his commitment.
Top247 RB Andrew Beard, 247Sports' No. 63 overall player in the 2027 class, has narrowed his recruitment to four finalists.
— Tom Loy (@TomLoy247) February 9, 2026
The 2026 Navy All-American (@AABonNBC) is one of the most coveted backs in the country: https://t.co/Eaxy71fmww@247Sports / @jabeard2027 pic.twitter.com/x1FRuxEvSD
Of course, Beard is still a year away from actually heading to college, unless he reclassifies to the class of 2026. So, Heupel and the other head coaches still have quite a bit of time to show Beard everything that their programs have to offer.
Unsurprisingly, Beard has already made a dozen trips to Athens to visit the Bulldogs and head coach Kirby Smart. However, he has also taken three visits to see Heupel in Knoxville, only making it to Florida twice but visiting Clemson five times so far.
As far as anyone can tell, Beard's commitment is anyone's to claim, so Heupel and his staff need to put on a great show when he's in town this summer.