One of the top prospects in the 2026 class will make his way to Rocky Top for a visit this Saturday.
Zion Elee, a five-star EDGE rusher in the 2026 class, revealed Wednesday on X that he will be in Knoxville for the Tennessee-Florida football game on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.
While it is still early in Elee’s recruitment cycle, getting the elite prospect on campus is a big step forward for the Vols.
I am going to Tennessee Oct. 12 @Vol_Football pic.twitter.com/ZD5xPV9ARO
— Zion Elee (@D1zion26) October 9, 2024
Elee ranks as the No. 16 overall player, the No. 3 EDGE rusher, and the No. 2 player from the state of Maryland according to 247’s Composite Rankings. 247 also has Elee as its No. 2 player overall in the 2026 class and its No. 1 player from Maryland.
Elee stands at 6-foot-3.5, 220 pounds, and currently plays his high school ball for St. Frances Academy in Baltimore, MD. Elee spent his first two high school seasons at Joppatowne High School in Maryland.
The 2026 EDGE rusher has more than 30 offers including powerhouse programs such as Oregon, Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State, Penn State, Michigan, and Tennessee. Elee’s offer list also has plenty of teams closer to his region such as Maryland, Syracuse, and North Carolina.
Elee heads to Tennessee after visiting Oregon last weekend for the Ducks’ win over Michigan State on Friday.
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Elee told 247’s Brian Dohn in August that Oregon was his leader but has reshuffled his deck after his recruitment has taken off since the start of the football season. While Oregon still looks to be trending well after the visit last week, Tennessee’s visit here in the following week is certainly something to note.
Tennessee has been terrific at recruiting EDGE rushers in recent years. The Vols signed five-star Jordan Ross in the 2024 class, four-star Caleb Herring in the 2023 class, and four-stars James Pearce Jr. and Joshua Josephs in the 2022 class. Tennessee also has a current commitment from four-star EDGE rusher Jayden Loftin in the ongoing 2025 class.
“One of the more complete edge prospects in recent memory at this stage of the evaluation process ahead of his junior season,” 247’s Hudson Standish wrote of Elee in an evaluation from May. “It feels as if he was built in a lab to get after the quarterback, verified hovering around 6-foot-4, 220 pounds with elite length measurements and a combine testing profile that could be mistaken for a field-stretching X receiver. Verified athletic markers are good enough to compare favorably against Top247 caliber senior edge rushers from the past two recruiting cycles.”
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of Tennessee’s game against Florida on Saturday night at 7:00 p.m. ET in Neyland Stadium.
Check out some of Zion Elee’s highlights below:
