Four-star linebacker Christian Gass committed to Tennessee football over Georgia and Southern Cal on Saturday afternoon, marking a major win for Josh Heupel and his staff on the recruiting trail.
Gass ranks as a four-star recruit and the No. 203 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. The Covington native also ranks as the No. 22 linebacker and No. 31 player in the state of Georgia in the 2025 recruiting cycle.
On3 sports is higher on Gass than any other recruiting site, ranking him as the No. 85 overall player and No. 6 linebacker in his recruiting class.
Playing at Eastside High School 40 miles east of Atlanta, Gass totaled 68 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles while helping lead the Eagles to an 8-4 record and a spot in the second round of the Georgia AAAAA playoffs.
A 6-foot-2, 215-pound linebacker, Gass took official visits to Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Southern Cal and Tennessee over the course of May and June before cutting his list to three and ultimately choosing the Vols in late July. Gass also took visits to Alabama, Auburn, Georgia Tech and Ole Miss earlier this year.
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Landing Gass is a major win for the Vols and particularly for new inside linebackers coach William Inge. The former Washington inside linebacker coach was poised to follow Kalen DeBoer to Alabama before Heupel swooped in and hired him away from the Crimson Tide. Gass is the first linebacker that Inge has landed at Tennessee. The Vols are also attempting to flip four-star Georgia inside linebacker commit Jadon Perlotte.
It is a busy recruiting stretch for Tennessee as the summer winds down and fall camp approaches. It’s the second straight Saturday that the Vols have landed a commit after beating out Alabama, Auburn and Florida for four-star receiver Travis Smith Jr.
Blue-chip offensive linemen David Sanders, Josh Petty and Juan Gaston as well as four-star safety Lagonza Hayward have commit dates scheduled for the next month and the Vols are top contenders for all four.
Gass’ commitment propels Tennessee’s recruiting class to No. 9 nationally and No. 6 in the SEC according to the 247sports team rankings.
