The early signing period begins on Wednesday as Tennessee football looks to put the finishing touches on a what’s poised to be a top 10 class nationally.
But there’s more storylines to watch for entering the early signing period this year compared to the first three for Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Here’s four storylines what to watch for entering signing day.
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Will David Sanders Sign With Tennessee?
The biggest storyline for Tennessee to watch entering signing day is whether they can hold on to five-star offensive tackle David Sanders. The top offensive tackle and No. 5 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings.
Sanders committed to Tennessee back in August and seemed incredibly solid until just two weeks ago when he showed up in Columbus for Ohio State’s matchup against Indiana. The Buckeyes finished runner up for Sanders originally and had all sorts of momentum exiting the weekend.
That buzz has died down in the last week and Tennessee seems to have survived Ohio State’s push, but this one is worth watching until Sanders makes it official and signs with the Vols.
Isaiah Campbell Announces His Decision
North Carolina defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell is the fourth highest rated recruit uncommitted in the 2025 recruiting cycle and the top player left on Tennessee’s recruiting board.
A four-star recruit and the No. 37 player in the 247sports composite rankings, Campbell spent a number of months committed to Clemson before backing off his commitment back in September. Tennessee and North Carolina were the favorites to land Campbell before the Tar Heels fired Mack Brown last week.
Clemson, North Carolina and Tennessee are the three hats on the table for Campbell on Wednesday and the Vols are the favorites to land his commitment.
Tennessee Tries To Hold Off A Number Of Flips
David Sanders isn’t the only Tennessee commit who has visited other schools in recent weeks and the Vols are hoping to hold off as signing day approaches.
Safety Lagonza Hayward de-committed from Tennessee over the weekend with Florida looking like the most likely landing spot for the blue-chip recruit. Low four-star cornerback Onis Konanbanny has also visited Florida in recent weeks and is considering a possible flip to the Gators.
Georgia has been working hard to flip both four-star receiver Travis Smith Jr and four-star linebacker Christian Gass from Tennessee in recent weeks but both prospects seem locked in with the Vols ahead of signing day. But like Sanders, those will be worth watching until pen hits paper.
Lastly is three-star defensive lineman Darrion Smith who seems likely to flip to Auburn after taking a number of visits to Auburn in recent weeks.
Will Tennessee Flip Any Recruits Themselves?
While Tennessee is looking to hold off a handful of schools looking to flip its commits, the Vols are trying to flip a pair of recruits themselves on signing day.
Most notably, the Vols are looking to flip Southern Cal linebacker commit Jadon Perlotte. The four-star almost committed to Tennessee when he flipped from Georgia to USC back in the summer and the Vols are hoping to complete the flip on signing day.
Tennessee is also looking to flip Miami safety commit Timothy Merritt. A three-star defensive back from Birmingham, Merritt would help replace Hayward in the Vols’ recruiting class.
