Tennessee’s 2023 recruiting class currently includes four defensive back commits with just one of them being a cornerback.
While Tennessee likes to recruit versatile defensive backs that can play across the secondary, the Vols are looking to add true corners to Josh Heupel’s second full recruiting class in Knoxville.
Two of the corners they’ve targeted — Rickey Gibson and Jordan Matthews — are poised to announce their college commitments in the coming days.
Let’s start with Gibson. The Alabama native will announce his college decision on Sunday. Gibson is a high three-star recruit ranking as the nation’s 461st best player and 43rd best cornerback according to the 247sports composite rankings.
Gibson is choosing between Georgia, Penn State and Tennessee with all signs pointing to either the Bulldogs or Vols.
The 6-foot corner visited Tennessee twice in recent months, using an unofficial visit on the Vols’ “RockyTopPallooza” weekend in May before returning for a June official visit.
Georgia offered Gibson in June and the Trussville, Alabama native visited Athens in late July. 247sports’ recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong predicted Tennessee to receive good news on Gibson earlier this week.
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Matthews is announcing his college commitment a day later on Monday, choosing between a top group of Michigan, Tennessee and Texas.
Matthews is a four-star recruit and ranks as the 139th best player and 15th best cornerback in the nation according to the 247sports composite rankings.
The 6-foot corner is one of the few top prospects from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to spurn the local Tigers, deciding to leave the state to play his college football.
Matthews took a June official visit to Knoxville where he hung out with former Vol cornerback Alontae Taylor and then Vol targets Cristian Conyer (now Tennessee commit) and Ja’Keem Jackson (now Florida commit).
The Louisiana native has been a frequent visitor in Austin, taking in the Texas campus three times in 2022.
Both crystal ball predictions on 247sports peg Matthews for Texas.
Tennessee’s recruiting class enters the weekend with 19 commits and ranks No. 11 nationally according to 247sports.
