Thursday was a bit of a mixed bag for Josh Heupel and the Tennessee Volunteers.
According to Rivals recruiting expert Steve Wiltfong, South Carolina is expected to land the services of five-star offensive lineman Darius Gray when he announces his commitment on Friday. Tennessee has been in the running but appears to be behind the Gamecocks.
However, the news wasn’t all bad, as Tennessee picked up the commitment of Clarksville, TN four-star OT Kamari Brown, who flipped his pledge from South Carolina to the Vols.
Blair is the #274 player in the 2026 class, the #22 offensive tackle, and the #7 player in the state of Tennessee. He picked UT over offers from a number of Power Four programs that include Penn State, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Kentucky, Louisville, and many others.
Blair was the last uncommitted player in Rivals’ top 10 players in the state of Tennessee. With him now pulling the trigger on Tennessee, the Vols landed six of the state’s top 10 players, which is a strong feat for Heupel.
Tennessee also moved up to the #12 overall class in Rivals’ team rankings for the 2026 cycle, jumping over Florida. We’ll see if Heupel has a big pull or two up his sleeve to bump that class up into the top 10 during the season.