Tennessee
Looking back at Tennessee Football's summer recruiting run
Tennessee Football’s summer recruiting tear continued Sunday afternoon with the flip of four-star linebacker Jaedon Harmon, who was previously committed to Alabama. It continued a massive weekend for the Vols, who added On3 five-star+ offensive tackle David Sanders Jr. on Saturday.
The two new additions put Tennessee at 15 commitments since the start of June, including five-star quarterback Fazion Brandon and four-star tight end Carson Sneed as the first two commitments in 2026, giving the Vols an elite start to the next class.
Of the 15 commitments, 12 are four-star prospects or higher in the On3 Industry Ranking, including two five stars. Harmon was the second flip, too, following four-star tight end DaSaahn Brame, a former Oregon commit who switch to Tennessee on July 28.
Here’s a look back at Tennessee’s summer recruiting run to date:
June
Jayden Loftin: The four-star edge rusher started Tennessee’s summer with a commitment on June 12. The 6-foot-4, 235-pound Lofting, out of Somerville, N.J., is ranked No. 158 overall in the On3 ratings. He’s the No. 16 edger rusher in the class and the No. 5 player out of New Jersey.
Nic Moore: Tennessee kept the four-star in-state interior offensive lineman home with his commitment on June 20. Moore, the 6-2.5, 290-pound prospect out of Jefferson County High School in Dandridge, Tenn., is ranked No. 211 overall in the On3 ratings. He’s the No. 12 interior offensive lineman and No. 6 player in Tennessee.
Charles House: The 6-3, 300-pound defensive lineman out of Charlotte, N.C., committed on June 22. He’s a four-star prospect in the On3 ratings, ranked No. 284 overall. He’s the No. 26 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 9 player in North Carolina.
Douglas Utu: Before the David Sanders Jr. commitment on Saturday, Utu was the highest-ranked prospect in the class. The 6-4, 315-pound interior offensive lineman, who committed on June 24, is the No. 55 overall prospect in the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s the No. 4 interior offensive lineman and the No. 2 player in Nevada, out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas. He’s a five-star prospect ranked No. 13 overall according to ESPN’s rankings.
Tre Poteat: The 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback committed to Tennessee on June 25 out of Verona, Wisconsin. He’s the No. 51 corner in the On3 Industry Rankings and the No. 4 prospect out of Wisconsin.
Mariyon Dye: The four-star edge rusher ended the month on a high note when he committed to Tennessee on June 28. The 6-4.75, 268-pounder out of Elkhart, Indiana, is ranked No. 36 overall in the On3 Ratings. He’s ranked No. 9 among edge rushers and No. 2 in the state of Indiana. He picked the Vols over Ohio State.
July
Travis Smith: The four-star receiver started the new month with a commitment on July 13. The 6-3, 200-pound Smith, out of Westlake High School in Atlanta is the No. 59 overall prospect in the On3 Ratings. He’s ranked No. 10 at wide receiver nationally and No. 8 in the state of Georgia.
Christian Gass: The 6-2.5, 220-pound four-star linebacker gave Tennessee a second straight commitment out of Georgia on July 20. Gass is the No. 85 overall player in the On3 Ratings, ranked No. 6 at linebacker and No. 14 in Georgia, out of Eastside High School in Covington.
Shaedy Hayward: The 6-1, 205-pound four-star safety out of Toombs County High School in Lyons, Georgia, was the first of back-to-back commitments when he announced on July 27. He’s the No. 75 overall player in the On3 Ratings, ranked No. 4 at safety and No. 11 in Georgia.
DaSaahn Brame: The former Oregon commitment flipped to Tennessee on July 28. The 6-4.5, 225-pound tight end, out of Derby High School in Derby, Kansas, is ranked No. 99 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s the No. 3 tight end in the country and the No. 3 player in the state of Kansas.
Darrion Smith: The 6-2, 260-pound defensive lineman gave Tennessee three commitments in a span of four days when he pulled the trigger on July 30. He’s ranked No. 59 among defensive linemen in the On3 Industry Ranking and is the No. 18 overall player in Maryland, out of St. Frances Academy in Baltimore.
August
Faizon Brandon: The five-star quarterback started Tennessee’s 2026 class of commitments with a bang on August 3. The 6-3.5, 195-pound Brandon, out of Greensboro, N.C., is ranked No. 10 overall in the On3 Industry Ranking. He’s the No. 2 quarterback in the class and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Carson Sneed: Two days later, Tennessee added another huge name to its 2026 class, keeping four-star in-state tight end Carson Sneed home with a commitment on August 5. He’s ranked No. 9 among tight ends in the class and is the No. 4 player in the state of Tennessee, out of Nashville’s Donelson Christian Academy.
David Sanders Jr.: The 6-5.75, 276-pound Five-Star+ prospect out of Charlotte, N.C., announced his commitment at long last on Saturday, picking Tennessee over Ohio State, Georgia and Nebraska. Sanders is the No. 4 overall player in the 2025 On3 Industry Ranking and is the No. 1 offensive tackle and the No. 1 player in the state of North Carolina.
Jaedon Harmon: The four-star linebacker flipped his commitment from Alabama to Tennessee on Sunday. The 6-1, 205-pound Harmon, out of Rome High School in Rome, Georgia, is ranked No. 129 overall in the On3 Ratings. He’s the No. 13 linebacker in the country and the No. 20 overall prospect in the state of Georgia.
Tennessee
Woman ‘adopts’ 80-year-old widow who moved to Tennessee
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — These days plenty of people are moving here from California, but no one quite like this woman. An 80-year-old who decided Tennessee is where she wants to be.
Meet sweet Lois Mayo, one of the latest transplants to the Volunteer State.
“Why did you move to Tennessee from California?”
“The history and the people and the southern hospitality – people are so nice. Had you ever been here before? No, never. I don’t even know the area,” said Lois.
Never visited once in the past eighty years, which is her age.
But about two weeks ago, Lois who is widowed — simply decided to load up her SUV and move to Tennessee.
Some people are going to say an 80-year-old driving cross country by herself to a place she’s never been…wow.
“Yeah, I’m proud of myself that I did that,” said Lois.
Truth is she didn’t come alone. Lois had her two cats as traveling companions.
The three made the two thousand mile drive in five days without a map. Lois just followed the interstate.
“Because I knew I-40 would take me to Tennessee,” she said.
She and Vanilla and Bubbs arrived in Murfreesboro pretty much without a plan.
Lois knows this may sound odd to some — but calls the move an adventure and she’s not worried.
“It makes you feel more alive.”
Lois says the trip ate up her latest Social Security payment and she figured she’d sleep in her KIA until she could get settled.
“I feel I can meet new people and the joy of southern hospitality and there’s angels everywhere.”
Well, talking about that…
“How are you? She’s my angel. Laughing”
Paris Barnes works at Walmart. By chance, she met Lois in the store and learned of her situation.
“I think it was meant for us to meet and God is using me to help you. I’m going to cry…I love you,” said Paris.
Paris had to help, first starting a GoFundMe for Lois and then setting her up in a motel.
It’s not clear where Lois will go from here, but she’s already made more friends at that motel — amazed at her story and wishing her well.
“You gotta follow your dreams and life begins at 80,” she said.
Lois is still staying in a motel in Murfreesboro while Paris works with her to find a more permanent place to live.
The GoFundMe is posted:
https://gofund.me/875b49dbe
And, you can message Nick Beres on Facebook if you’d like to help her.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
Checking in on Cole: Gallatin rallies around teen battling brain tumor with prayer vigil
Austin Pollack brings us an update on a remarkable young man facing great odds, and his family has one simple request: pray for Cole. I believe in the power of prayer and hope you’ll join me in lifting up Cole and his family.
– Carrie Sharp
Tennessee
Tennessee Tech member to participate in Artemis mission
Kid Rock spoke with News 2 after his social media post about military helicopters flying over his home went viral. An Army investigation is underway into the viral video, showing what appears to be Apache helicopters flying close to Kid Rock’s Nashville home.
Tennessee
Tracking every Tennessee Titans pre-NFL draft visit for 2026
The 2026 NFL Draft is less than a month away, which means it’s time to start paying extra close attention to the Tennessee Titans’ moves and visits.
In the weeks leading up to the NFL draft, teams are allowed to bring up to 30 prospects to their facilities for visits with coaches and executives, on top of the meetings coaches, scouts and executives can hold with prospects on college campuses after pro days.
Pre-draft meetings aren’t everything; seven of the nine players the Titans drafted in 2025 never took reported visits or meetings with the team prior to being picked. But touch points like these are interesting looks into the team’s thought process as far as which positions need to be evaluated and which players merit closer looks.
Based on player comments, social media posts and national reports, here is a running track of which players have visited or are expected to visit with the Titans, sorted by player rank in the consensus player rater.
Tennessee Titans NFL draft 2026 visits tracker: Which best draft prospects available are talking with the Titans?
Jeremiyah Love, RB, Notre Dame (No. 4 prospect)
Love visited the Titans’ facility shortly after the conclusion of his impressive showing at the NFL combine, according to posts he made on social media.
Rueben Bain Jr., DL/Edge, Miami (No. 7 prospect)
Bain told CBS Sports following his Miami pro day workout that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans. Bain also met with the Titans at the NFL combine.
Carnell Tate, WR, Ohio State (No. 9 prospect)
Tate told reporters after Ohio State’s pro day that the Titans are among the five teams he has scheduled visits with. Other teams picking in the top 10 who have Tate on their radar include the New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, New Orleans Saints and Kansas City Chiefs.
Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU (No. 10 prospect)
Per a report from Ryan Fowler, the Titans scheduled a visit with Delane, the consensus pick for the top cornerback in this draft class.
Makai Lemon, WR, Southern Cal (No. 14 prospect)
The reigning Biletnikoff Award winner as college football’s best wide receiver, Lemon has a visit scheduled with the Titans, per a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
KC Concepcion, WR, Texas A&M (No. 32 prospect)
Concepcion, an impressive field stretcher out of Texas A&M, told reporters at his pro day that the Titans are one of six teams he has scheduled meetings with. Concepcion is considered a fringe first-round pick who might be gone or might be ripe for the picking when the Titans use their second-round pick at No. 35.
Caleb Banks, DL, Florida (No. 35 prospect)
Banks told reporters after Florida’s pro day that he had a visit scheduled with the Titans, along with visits to Kansas City, Baltimore, Detroit, Arizona, Denver, Atlanta and the Chargers.
Treydan Stukes, CB, Arizona (No. 65 prospect)
Stukes told Sports Illustrated that he took a meeting with the Titans, putting him on the radar as a potential third-round pick candidate.
Tristan Leigh, OT, Clemson (No. 271 prospect)
Leigh, a three-year starter at left tackle for Clemson, has visited with the Titans, per a report from Fowler.
Travis Burke, OT, Memphis (No. 354 prospect)
Burke is a bottom-of-the-draft offensive lineman prospect who visited with the Titans, per Sports Illustrated’s Justin Melo.
Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X @nicksuss. Subscribe to the Talkin’ Titans newsletter for updates sent directly to your inbox.
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