With eight players committed to Josh Heupel’s program so far, Tennessee currently holds a Top 10 recruiting ranking in the 2026 cycle, according to both 247Sports and On3 Sports.
247’s Composite Rankings have Tennessee with one five-star, three four-stars, and four three-star players, while On3’s Industry Rankings have the Vols with one five-star, two four-stars, and five three-star players.
With spring training camp and spring recruiting visits around the corner, ESPN’s Eli Lederman took a look around the college football recruiting landscape to get a sense of which teams have the most momentum heading into the next few months.
Tennessee is one of the 15 teams that Lederman mentioned in his article on Tuesday.
While not in the top category of “programs with early momentum,” Tennessee does land in the “10 programs with big springs ahead” section.
The most important prospect in that big spring ahead, according to Lederman? Five-star linebacker Tyler Atkinson.
“Atkinson, No. 10 in the ESPN Junior 300, is originally from Tennessee and the Vols were one of three programs to get an in-home visit with the nation’s top linebacker in January,” Lederman wrote about the Vols’ most important spring visitor. “Atkinson has yet to formalize his spring visits, but Tennessee can cut into the momentum Georgia and Clemson have built in his recruitment if/when they get Atkinson on campus.”
More from RTI: Three Storylines To Watch For As Tennessee Football Begins Spring Practice This Week
Atkinson is a five-star linebacker from Grayson High School in Loganville, GA, in the 2026 class. 247Sports’ Composite rankings have Atkinson as the No. 8 player in the class, the No. 1 linebacker, and the No. 1 player from the state of Georgia.
Atkinson picked up 175 tackles, 35 tackles for loss, 13 sacks, and three pass break-ups during his 2024 season.
The five-star prospect hasn’t been a stranger in Knoxville for visits and recently hosted Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and linebackers coach William Inge for an in-home visit in January, according to VolQuest’s Matt Ray.
“Highly-productive inside linebacker that can emerge as the soul of a defense with his instincts and athleticism,” 247 Director of Scouting Andrew Ivins wrote about Atkinson in an evaluation from December. “Owns more of a streamlined build at this stage, but is blessed with a longer frame and should have no issues eventually carrying 225 pounds or more. Quick to locate the football with his field awareness and will mirror ball carries with his rare start-stop ability and exceptional lateral burst. Has proven to be rather effective on the blitz as he will slip and dip around blockers before geting to the quarterback.”
According to a report from On3’s Chad Simmons on Tuesday, Atkinson will take a visit to Clemson this weekend on Mar. 8.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage.
Check out Eli Lederman’s full article for ESPN on Tuesday here.
