Tennessee missed out on a Knoxville athlete’s commitment on Friday night.
Class of 2026 athlete Shavar Young Jr. announced his commitment to Clemson on his Instagram Friday night, selecting the Tigers over Tennessee, Kentucky, and Oregon.
Young played his freshman season at Knoxville Webb before transferring to Brentwood Academy in Nashville for his sophomore season. Knox News’ Toyloy Brown III reported in January that Young would be returning to Webb for his upcoming junior season in 2024.
Young tallied 664 yards during his freshman season but had broke out playing with Tennessee quarterback commit George MacIntyre at Brentwood. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound prospect had 1,130 receiving yards and nine touchdowns playing with MacIntyre. Young’s athlete status on recruiting sites stems from him playing both wide receiver and defensive back, as he also recorded 17 tackles, 11 breakups, and one interception during his sophomore season.
The Knoxville native holds a four-star ranking on Rivals and On3 while 247 Sports has him as a three-star prospect. It is important to note that Rivals and 247 have Young ranked as an athlete while On3 has him tagged as a cornerback. 247’s Composite Rankings have Young as a four-star prospect, the No. 182 player overall, the No. 12 athlete in the class, and the No. 7 player from Tennessee.
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Tennessee did show resilience on the recruiting trail during a recent commitment, highlighting the Vols’ ability to stay in a recruitment even past an announcement. The Vols flipped an Oregon commitment from four-star tight end Da’Saahn Brame from the 2025 class this past weekend to add another key prospect to the group.
While Tennessee missed out on Young’s commitment, the Vols will look to add another prospect to the 2026 class on Saturday afternoon with blue-chip quarterback Faizon Brandon. The five-star quarterback holds the No. 1 overall ranking in 247’s initial class rankings.
Young’s announcement to Clemson doesn’t come as too much of a surprise. Dabo Swinney’s program held two Crystal Ball predictions from 247 Sports and held a 72.9 percent chance according to On3’s Recruiting Prediction Machine compared to Tennessee’s 7.2 percent.
Despite Friday’s news not going in Tennessee’s favor, though, Josh Heupel and his staff have been on a tear with the 2025 class this summer. The Vols have added 11 commits to the 2025 class since the start of June with eight four-star commitments in the bunch.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football recruiting coverage.
