While Tennessee is working to figure out its starting quarterback for the 2026 season, Josh Heupel picked up a big win on Monday in the program’s search for an answer at the position for down the road.
Four-star 2028 QB Kaden Craft committed to Tennessee over Ole Miss, Michigan, and Florida, among others.
Craft, from Mooresville, NC (Lake Norman HS), is the No. 102 overall player, No. 8 QB, and No. 4 player in North Carolina for the 2028 cycle. He held tons of notable offers from beyond his finalists, including Miami, Texas A&M, Indiana, Georgia, and South Carolina.
Even though Tennessee will have Faizon Brandon or George MacIntyre as their starter, you always, always, always need to have a quarterback in your class. That’s particularly the case for Tennessee, who doesn’t have one in their 2027 class, so getting one the following year was important. You just never know how things will shake out with players coming and going in the NIL/transfer portal era. A lesson learned with the Nico Iamaleava fiasco from 2025, something few saw coming after a the Vols reached the playoff in 2024.
So now, that box has been checked for Tennessee, and Heupel can continue to try to build out the rest of his 2027 class and 2028 without having a huge box left to check.
Welcome to Rocky Top, Kaden!
