Tennessee football hauled in a massive commit to the 2025 recruiting class with offensive lineman Douglas Utu on Monday.
“Proud to be announcing that I will be committing my craft and talents to the University of Tennessee! You can’t spell UTU without UT! Go Vols!”
Proud to be announcing that I will be committing my craft and talents to the University of Tennessee! You can’t spell UTU without UT! Go Vols!🍊🍊🍊@AneUtu @wilson_utu @BishopGormanFB @Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/6ktZPawGZL
— Douglas Utu (@DouglasUtu56) June 24, 2024
Utu ranks as a four-star prospect according to 247 Sports’ Composite rankings and is the 67th player in the country, the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the class, and the No. 2 player from the state of Nevada. Individually, though, Utu holds a pair of five-star rankings from ESPN and Rivals’ recruiting rankings. Rivals has Utu as the No. 8 player in the class while ESPN has him at No. 11 in the class.
Any way you look at it, Utu is a blue-chip prospect and gives Tennessee a big boost in the class. Utu is the second-highest rated player in Tennessee’s class behind five-star quarterback George MacIntyre.
Utu has made the most out of his high school tenure and brings a lot to the table for Glen Elarbee’s unit at Tennessee. The soon-to-be four-year high-school starter has stacked up a huge amount of on-field experience over the past three seasons while honing his craft.
“He’s technically sound with good feet and balance, moves well laterally and is equally strong as a run blocker and pass protector,” National recruiting analyst Greg Biggins wrote for 247. “He’s a physical player, strong at the point of attack and is a finisher. He’s a natural bender with a strong punch. He has the quickness to recover against speed rushers and the strength to hold his ground against the bull rushers. He’s plenty aggressive as well and has the nastiness needed to excel in the trenches.”
More from RTI: Three-Star Defensive Lineman Charles House Commits To Tennessee Football
The 6-foot-4, 317-pound lineman plays for Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada – one of the premier high school programs in the country.
Utu’s commitment on Monday comes on the heels of an unofficial visit to Tennessee this past weekend.
Utu took visits to Tennessee, Washington, Michigan, Nebraska, and Alabama at various times this spring but chose to take his talents to Rocky Top after the Vols’ efforts over the weekend. Tennessee was the only of the five programs that Utu visited twice this spring according to 247’s timeline, visiting Josh Heupel’s program on April 6 and June 21.
Utu is the second offensive line commitment that Tennessee has received in the last four days alongside interior offensive lineman Nic Moore. The Jefferson County product is ranked as a four-star prospect and is the fourth-highest rated player in the Vols’ class.
Tennessee is clearly looking to stack up talent in the trenches to surround their stream of five-star quarterbacks, including George MacIntyre as he headlines the 2025 group. Utu and Moore make up two of Tennessee’s four highest-rated players while also nabbing a commitment from three-star offensive tackle Antoni Kade Ogumoro in late May.
The Vols are also making a massive push for five-star offensive tackle and No. 3 overall prospect David Sanders Jr., who has taken two visits to Tennessee in the last 30 days.
Douglas Utu is the 14th commitment to Tennessee’s 2025 class and the Vols’ third commitment this week. At the time of this publication, Tennessee has jumped all the way up to No. 12 in 247’s 2025 team rankings and landed as the No. 7 ranked team from the SEC.
Here’s a look at some of Utu’s highlights from his sophomore season in 2022:
