With Tennessee football signing 25 players in the early signing period last month, the vast majority if not all of the Vols’ 2025 recruiting class is set.
Because of that, Tennessee is starting to turn its attention to the 2026 recruiting cycle as Josh Heupel and his staff look to land their first top 10 recruiting class during his time in Knoxville.
For it being January, Tennessee’s 2026 recruiting class is already pretty developed. The Vols have eight players committed including one five-star recruit, three four-star recruits and four three-star recruits.
Tennessee landed its first commit in the 2026 recruiting cycle back in early August and it was from the prized jewel of the Vols’ class— Faizon Brandon. The quarterback recruit ranks as the No. 3 overall player and the No. 1 quarterback in the 2026 recruiting cycle according to the 247sports composite rankings.
The Vols landed their latest commit over the weekend when three-star Chattanooga native Gabriel Osenda committed to Tennessee. The nation’s No. 32 offensive tackle plays his prep football at the Baylor School.
Tennessee’s eight commit recruiting class contains two receivers, two offensive linemen, a quarterback, a tight end, a defensive lineman and a linebacker.
The strong start to Tennessee’s 2026 recruiting class is good enough to give them a consensus top five recruiting class in the early stages. Here’s where the class ranks according to different outlets.
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247sports
- National rank: No. 5
- National rank by average: No. 16
- SEC rank: No. 2
- SEC rank by average: No. 7
On3
- National rank: No. 3
- National rank by average: No. 11
- SEC rank: No. 1
- SEC rank by average: No. 6
Rivals
- National rank: No. 4
- National rank by average: No. 16
- SEC rank: No. 2
- SEC rank by average: No. 9
