Tennessee commit Lagonza “Shaedy” Hayward Jr. had a message for the internet rumors on Wednesday afternoon.
After buzz of Georgia wanting to flip the Tennessee commit surfaced online on Wednesday, Hayward reconfirmed his commitment emphatically online.
“I’M NOT FLIPPING,” Hayward wrote in a tweet on Wednesday afternoon.
Sounds simple enough.
Dawg Nation’s Jeff Sentell posted a video of a quick interview with Hayward to X on Wednesday morning addressing his interactions with the Georgia Bulldogs after his commitment to Tennessee. Hayward briefly spoke about Georgia before explaining why he has remained committed to Josh Heupel and the Vols.
“Really because of the loyalty,” Hayward said when asked what keeps him committed to Tennessee. “It ain’t ever been a dry stage with them where they just [haven’t] kept in contact with me, not checked up on me and stuff like that.”
4-star @LagonzaJr is one of the top seniors in Georgia this fall. The @ToombsFootball1 safety is committed to Tennessee.#UGA wants to flip that. Do the Dawgs have a shot?
His description of the current pursuit is spot-on for his world.https://t.co/Q9j98kIYnB pic.twitter.com/5FAsxaMiNu
— Jeff Sentell (@jeffsentell) November 13, 2024
A user named Margaret Brooks responded to the video saying, “Keeping in contact is the dumbest reason to commit to a team.”
Hayward directly responded to that comment with two crying laughing emojis.
😂😂
— Lagonza “SH@EDY🐺”Hayward jr (@LagonzaJr) November 13, 2024
A Tennessee fan by the name of Volman96 responded with a GIF of former UT tight end Princeton Fant, to which Hayward quote tweeted and revealed his “I’m not flipping” line.
I’M NOT FLIPPING 🍊 https://t.co/EcxV5FrCUM
— Lagonza “SH@EDY🐺”Hayward jr (@LagonzaJr) November 13, 2024
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Lagonza Hayward is a four-star prospect from Toombs County High School in Lyons, GA.
“Shaedy” ranks as a Top 120 player in the nation, the No. 9 safety in the class, and the No. 13 player from the Peach State according to 247 Sports’ Composite Rankings.
Hayward committed to Tennessee during a flurry of summer commitments on July 27. The four-star safety from the 2025 class committed to Tennessee over Georgia and Florida.
Hayward currently ranks as the fifth highest-rated player in Tennessee’s 2025 class and is the second-highest defensive player in Heupel’s class.
Tennessee has 24 commitments and the No. 8 ranking in the nation with its 2025 class according to 247.
