While the 2023 Vols are gearing up for their season opener in less than two weeks, one of Tennessee’s top targets in the class of 2024 is set to announce his college decision on Monday.
Jordan Ross, a blue-chip EDGE rusher from Birmingham, AL, will make his decision between Florida, Tennessee, Texas, and Alabama.
The 6-foot-4, 230-pound prospect is ranked as a four-star prospect according to Rivals, On3, and ESPN while 247Sports’ rankings have Ross listed as a five-star recruit. 247’s industry-wide composite rankings have Ross as a four-star recruit, the No. 36 player in the class, the No. 4 EDGE rusher in the country, and the No. 5 player from the state of Alabama.
Additionally, all four publications have Ross as a Top 100 prospect with ESPN and 247 ranking him in the Top 25.
Tennessee looks to be tracking well for the out-of-state prospect. While it is just a prediction, On3 Sports’ Recruiting Prediction Machine has Tennessee leading the way at 29 percent. Georgia, a team that fell off of Ross’ list when announcing his Top 4, is behind at 18.3 percent. Florida is behind at 12.6 percent followed by Alabama at 7.9 percent. There are no Crystal Ball predictions from 247 Sports at the time of this publication.
Three of the four finalists received an official visit in the month of June according to 247 with Florida happening first (June 2), then Texas (June 16), then Tennessee (June 23). Ross also added an official visit to Georgia on June 9 but did not include the Bulldogs in his final four.
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Former Tennessee EDGE rusher Byron Young translated his 2022 success into a fifth-round draft pick from the Los Angeles Rams in the 2023 NFL Draft this past spring. The Vols also have several promising young prospects at that position such as sophomore Joshua Josephs, sophomore James Pearce Jr., freshman Caleb Herring, and freshman Chandavian Bradley.
Ross’s size and speed would be an excellent addition to the Vols’ EDGE rusher room and create even more competition.
“Displays an explosive first step off the line of scrimmage and flashes outstanding initial foot and body quickness at the point of attack,” 247 Sports National Recruiting Analyst Cooper Petagna wrote in a February evaluation. “Fluid athlete. Shows the ability to bend the edge and possesses good burst-to-close ability. Demonstrates good lateral change of direction ability and exhibits the ability to play in space both on the line of scrimmage and lined up as an off-ball linebacker.”
Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class currently stands at No. 11 at the time of this publication according to 247’s team rankings. The Vols possess 19 total commits with one five-star, 13 four-stars, and five three-star players. Tennessee has the sixth-ranked class in the SEC behind No. 1 Georgia, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Alabama, No. 6 Texas A&M, and No. 8 LSU.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider on Monday, Aug 21 for more information on Jordan Ross’s collegiate decision.
