Tennessee sends message to Bill Belichick by landing stud WR from his new backyard

While plenty of Tennessee football fans are focused on trying to add some more players via the transfer portal for 2025, head coach Josh Heupel has been busy making moves for 2026. Tennessee is up to seven pledges for the class.

The latest addition came on Sunday, with wide receiver Tyran Evans announcing he'll be Knoxville-bound for his college ball. This is a nice get for Tennessee, as Evans picked up 19 offers throughout his recruitment. Not only that, but with him being a North Carolina product, Heupel went to NC to grab a commitment from Bill Belichick's new backyard. Yup, we love seeing that:

Wide receiver Tyran Evans has committed to the Tennessee Volunteers

Evans is the second wide receiver for Tennessee's 2026 haul, joining Knoxville's Tyreek King. Evans is ranked three stars, the No. 78 wide receiver in the country for '26 and the No. 24 player from North Carolina according to the 247Sports Composite. He chose Tennessee over North Carolina, South Carolina, Miami, Florida, Florida State and many others.

Future Tennessee signal-caller Faizon Brandon, the No. 1 QB and a 5-star playmaker, is also a North Carolina native. As soon as Belichick was hired, Brandon said it was a good move for UNC, but it didn't matter to him because he was still 100 percent locked in with the Vols.

Belichick has been making plenty of splashes now that he's the new head man in charge for UNC, but that's not going to stop Heupel from continuing to recruit some of the top players from that state. The fact that Brandon and now Evans are on board is awesome.

We fully expect Belichick to try and return the favor by going after some Tennessee talent, but for now, Heupel can celebrate yet another recruiting win. The 2026 class is off to a stellar start too, as it's ranked No. 5 in the country.