Standout Florida edge rusher Booker Pickett Jr. released his top nine schools Tuesday afternoon with Tennessee making the cut.
The Vols joined Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Miami, Ohio State, Penn State, South Carolina and Southern Cal in the blue-chip recruit’s top nine.
Where’s home 🏡?? pic.twitter.com/TiRvg5voJ7
— Booker “ B9 ” Pickett jr. (@pickett_booker) February 14, 2023
Pickett is one of the top edge rushers and top players in Florida in the 2024 recruiting cycle. The Tampa native is the No. 53 player in the country and No. 11 player in the Sunshine State according to the 247sports composite rankings. Pickett also ranks as the nation’s No. 6 edge rusher.
More From RTI: Tennessee Makes The Cut For Blue-Chip Corner
Pickett took a handful of visits in 2022 but none were to Tennessee and few saw him leave the Sunshine State. The top-100 recruit visited both Florida State and Miami three times though only two of the visits to Tallahassee were during 2022.
The highly touted prospect visited Ohio State twice last April around an unofficial visit to Florida. Despite the Gators getting one of Pickett’s nine visits to date, Florida didn’t make his top nine.
For Tennessee to become a major player in the highly touted prospect’s recruitment they’ll need to get him on campus this spring or summer.
Tennessee’s three-commit 2024 recruiting class includes defensive line prospect Carson Gentle but the Chattanooga native projects as an interior defensive lineman. The Vols signed two top-150 edge rushers in the 2023 cycle — Caleb Herring and Chandavian Bradley — after signing four-star edge rushers Josh Josephs and James Pearce Jr. in the 2022 cycle.
The Vols’ 2024 recruiting class currently ranks 18th nationally according to the 247sports team rankings.
