Always be 'crootin'. That is the name of the game in major college football. For a traditional power like Tennessee trying to earn its keep in a new era of college football, it really is no different. Josh Heupel has the Vols in their best spot in decades, but last year's inconsistencies on the field are still fresh in everyone's mind. Moreover, a prized in-state target in Colton Johnson is starting to get noticed, too.
Johnson spoke with Tyler Palmateer of The Tennessean to discuss his recruitment with Tennessee.
“I went (to Tennessee) for a game day at the start of the year, watched them play UAB. I’m going to go there again in the spring and tour it all. Coach Abeln is cool. It’s kind of a new relationship, but it’s a good relationship. We got to talking two or three weeks ago.”
He also mentioned that he is been offered by rival Alabama, and is looking pretty hard at them as well.
“(Tight ends) Coach (Richard) Owens at ‘Bama, we talk often. That’s a good relationship there, too. Right now, I’m going to hit some spring visits and build some relationships and see where that goes. I plan on committing sometime in the summer.”
According to the 247Sports Composite, Johnson is a three-star recruit from Baxter, Tennessee. The Upperman standout is the No. 23 overall player from Tennessee, the No. 31 tight end in his class, and the No. 529 overall prospect in the 2027 recruiting cycle. Johnson has 49 official offers, including ones from Florida State, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt, and Virginia Tech as well.
It could all come down to relationships ahead of Johnson's upcoming summertime commitment.
3-star TE recruit Colton Johnson looking at a summertime commitment
Not only will it come down to how well he jells with the likes of Heupel and Kalen DeBoer, but Johnson made it a point to mention two other men who are vying for his recruitment to those respective schools. That would be Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln and Alabama tight ends coach Richard Owens. Other teams could be in play for his commitment, but these are the two to monitor.
Overall, this just kind of shows the impact of an Alabama offer. When a school of that gravitas offers a player who has three or fewer stars next to his name, the rest of the college football recruiting world takes a good, hard look at that prospect. It is why lesser programs who do their due diligence of recruiting smaller-time prospects often get burned in this situation. Alabama will just copy their work.
Ultimately, Tennessee should still feel great about its chances of landing Johnson. Heupel and his staff should expect valiant efforts on the recruiting trails from their two biggest rivals in Alabama and Vanderbilt. Should Florida or Kentucky seriously enter the fray under their new coaching staffs, that would only make things even more complicated for Tennessee in the Volunteers' quest to land him.
For now, spring has only just begun, so we have a whole season to prepare for Johnson's decision.