You cannot win them all, but that does not mean you cannot try! When it comes to the Tennessee Volunteers being in hot pursuit of four-star interior offensive lineman Carter Jones out of Poquoson, Virginia, they feel destined to come up short. He may be in town for a visit this weekend, but it seems as though he has already made up his mind about where he wants to go play his college football at.
These are the four teams Jones will be deciding between to give his commitment to on Memorial Day.
- Clemson Tigers
- Georgia Bulldogs
- Penn State Nittany Lions
- Tennessee Volunteers
Jones will make his announcement live on CBS Sports College Football YouTube channel on May 25.
Four-star OL @carterjonesfb will announce his commitment live with @247sports on Monday at 5 p.m. on the CBS Sports College Football youtube channel and he previews his decision (FREE) https://t.co/jrKX4W4HNm pic.twitter.com/7pH0esEZp1
— BrianDohn247 (@BrianDohn247) May 22, 2026
Heading into his 5:00 p.m. ET commitment on Monday, here is how On3/Rivals sees him committing.
- Clemson Tigers: 83.4 percent
- Penn State Nittany Lions: 3.3 percent
- Tennessee Volunteers: 2.0 percent
- Georgia Bulldogs 1.7 percent
According to the 247Sports Composite, Jones is the No. 11 player from Virginia, the No. 22 interior offensive line prospect in the country, and the No. 414 overall player in the 2027 cycle. Thus far, he has made official visits to Penn State and Georgia on April 10 and April 17, respectively. His official visit with Clemson is coming up at the end of the month on May 29. It feels like he is heading there...
Clearly, it seems like Josh Heupel and his staff might not have much of a chance to sway Jones at all.
Tennessee has run out of runway to possibly land 4-star IOL Carter Jones
While Jones is only looking at heavy hitters at this point of his recruitment, it is interesting that Clemson has shot way up as the presumptive favorite to get him. On his 247Sports profile, the Tigers are listed as "warmer" when it comes to getting him. It does help that Matt Luke is his primary recruiter to Clemson. He is great at what he does, but Clemson does have a history in the trenches...
Under Dabo Swinney, Clemson has always gone about things differently. He had been an elite culture builder, up until the game changed on him in the wonderful world of NIL and the transfer portal. There was a time where Clemson only gave out committable offers. If you commit to Clemson, then your recruitment is over with, unless you later de-commit. It is incredibly old school, but it has worked out.
What is interesting is for as great as Clemson has been under Swinney developing defensive linemen, wide receivers, and whatnot, up until only recently have the finished products coming out of Clemson been worth a damn along the offensive line. It is the Matt Luke effect. Again, choosing to go play for him feels like a smart move for Jones, but it does put a program like Tennessee behind the eight ball.
Right now, Heupel and his revamped staff need all the momentum it can get. Jim Knowles is expected to turn the defense around, but his system does take time to properly implement. We have seen Heupel reinvent himself before after coming over from UCF. The game has changed once again, and he must adapt. His scheme needs to become more modern for top-flight recruits to want to be all in.
Tennessee may have the third-best odds of getting Jones to commit, but Clemson is a huge favorite.
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