Tennessee football the new No. 1 school for elite DL after his weekend visit

Fresh off a major official visit weekend, the Tennessee Vols and Josh Heupel are hopeful that multiple top targets will announce their commitments in the near future. Among the list is an elite defensive tackle who just gave a glowing review of his time in Knoxville.

We're talking about DT Dereon Albert, a Mississippi product who just returned home after a two-day stay on campus. The 6-2, 305-pounder loved his time with the Vols. So much in fact, he didn't hesitate in telling reporter Dale Dowden that Tennessee is the new top school for him. Obviously, this is a great update for Heupel and his staff:

4-star DT Dereon Albert has Tennessee football as his new top school

Boom. Albert has picked up 32 offers throughout his recruitment, with Tennessee, Auburn, Mississippi State, Arkansas, Baylor, LSU, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Kentucky and many others on his list.

However, the trip to Tennessee is not only the lone official visit he has taken thus far this spring, but he also doesn't have any others on the schedule. With Tennessee making such a strong impression on him over the weekend, it has plenty of people hopeful a verbal could come soon.

According to the 247Sports Composite, Albert is ranked four stars, the No. 42 DL in the country, No. 14 player from Mississippi and No. 358 prospect nationally. With him checking in at over 300 pounds already, he's going to literally be a massive commit for whoever lands him.

As things stand, Tennessee appears to be in pretty darn good shape to land his services, but no set commitment date has been put in place for Albert to shut things down. Following his trip to UT, though, it's safe to say he's going to be on 'commit watch' for Heupel moving forward. It'd be a big-time get if the Vols can get this one over the line and it would add to an already impressive '26 haul.