Tennessee
Tennessee football lands 4-star Malik Howard of Oak Ridge over Alabama, LSU, others
Tennessee football defended its home turf by landing Oak Ridge standout Malik Howard, one of the top tight ends in the 2027 class.
Howard announced his commitment to the Vols in an Instagram post during his recruiting visit on June 6. They beat out Alabama, LSU, Miami, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt among other programs.
Howard, a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder, is a four-star recruit. He is the No. 8 player in the state, ranked the No. 8 tight end and No. 183 prospect overall in the 2027 class, according to the 247Sports Composite.
“Just getting to (play) in an offense that’s really grown to learn how to use the tight ends, and that is really going to be key to my development to playing in the NFL, obviously, and just being around really good people in this program,” Howard told GoVols247. “There’s not a lot of places that are as genuine and hard-working as Tennessee is.”
He received dozens of scholarship offers as a prime target for most of the SEC and other Power Four programs. But Tennessee aggressively pursued him to continue its focus on pass-catching tight ends.
In his 2025 junior season, Howard had 53 receptions for 778 yards and 11 touchdowns, almost doubling his sophomore year production. He was an All-PrepXtra second team selection and helped push Oak Ridge to a 9-2 record in the Wildcats’ first season in Class 6A football.
Tennessee football commitments in 2027 class
The early signing period is Dec. 2-4, 2026.
Howard is the 10th commitment in Tennessee’s 2027 recruiting class.
In-state players top the list. Howard, Brentwood Academy tight end Kesean Bowman and Siegel offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo are four-star prospects. Defensive lineman Kadin Fife (Summerville, Georgia) is also rated four stars.
Cornerback Brandon Leavell (Goodpasture), safety Jaden Butler (Haywood), linebacker JP Peace (Maryville), quarterback Derrick Baker (Alpharetta, Georgia) and cornerback Carter Jamison (Fairburn, Georgia) are three-star prospects. Long snapper Sam McKeown is also committed, but doesn’t have a star rating on 247Sports Compositie. They round out the early commitments.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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See inside L.L.Bean’s first Tennessee location at Franklin mall
L.L.Bean has officially opened the doors to its inaugural Tennessee location at Cool Springs Galleria Mall.
The boot has arrived. After months of anticipation, L.L.Bean opened its inaugural Tennessee location at Cool Springs Galleria mall in Franklin July 17.
To celebrate and spread the word, L.L.Bean’s 13-foot-tall Bootmobile boot-shaped vehicle made appearances throughout the Franklin area, including stops at The Franklin Butchery, Hank’s Coffee Station, Leiper’s Fork Distillery and a Nashville Sounds game.
“For generations, Tennesseans have shopped with L.L.Bean through our catalog and online channels, and we’re excited to finally bring the brand experience to life in Franklin,” said L.L.Bean District Manager Kenon Mitchell. “With its strong outdoor culture and growing community, Franklin is a natural home for L.L.Bean. We look forward to deepening our connection with longtime customers while introducing the brand to new audiences through our legendary service, quality products and outdoor expertise.”
Some fans of the Maine-based outdoor gear store arrived for the opening before dawn.
First in a line of about 150 people was Paul Smith, who got there at 3 a.m.
“We are super excited for this,” Smith said. “We always go up to their headquarters in Maine, so we know what L.L. Bean is and we love them.”
Smith was most excited to purchase some more of their equipment: “Their outdoor equipment is really great. Their backpacks are well known for being waterproof and long-lasting.”
L.L.Bean also made a $10,000 contribution to the Franklin Family YMCA. Since 2022, L.L.Bean has contributed more than $2.25 million to YMCA Summer Camp scholarships.
“We’re an all-American outdoor lifestyle program,” Mitchell said. No matter if you’re walking your dog, playing with your kids, or you’re hiking around, we’re providing the gear that helps to make that experience better. We’ve been around for 114 years and our stuff is really well crafted, that people have loved for years. We’re happy to bring this store to our current fans while bringing our store to more people.
L.L. Bean is located at 1800 Galleria Blvd. Suite 252 at Cool Springs Galleria. The store is open from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays.
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CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. — New TCAP results are giving parents their first look at how students performed across Southeast Tennessee during the 2025-26 school year.
Among the districts in the Chattanooga area, Dayton City Schools posted the highest proficiency rates in English language arts and social studies, while Rhea County led the region in math.
Here’s how districts in the Tennessee portion of the NewsChannel 9 viewing area performed:
Hamilton County:
- English language arts: 40.3%
- Math: 39.9%
- Social studies: 49.7%
Bradley County:
- English language arts: 45.1%
- Math: 43.5%
- Social studies: 46.7%
Marion County:
- English language arts: 37.9%
- Math: 30.6%
- Social studies: 43.3%
Grundy County:
- English language arts: 32.1%
- Math: 30.7%
- Social studies: 39.4%
Sequatchie County:
- English language arts: 34.1%
- Math: 32.0%
- Social studies: 46.4%
Bledsoe County:
- English language arts: 39.8%
- Math: 34.8%
- Social studies: 49.8%
Rhea County:
- English language arts: 44.0%
- Math: 46.1%
- Social studies: 51.4%
Meigs County:
- English language arts: 37.3%
- Math: 32.2%
- Social studies: 41.0%
McMinn County:
- English language arts: 41.1%
- Math: 39.5%
- Social studies: 50.0%
Polk County:
- English language arts: 35.1%
- Math: 27.2%
- Social studies: 43.0%
Cleveland City Schools:
- English language arts: 33.9%
- Math: 31.3%
- Social studies: 36.0%
Dayton City Schools:
- English language arts: 45.7%
- Math: 45.2%
- Social studies: 63.9%
Richard Hardy Memorial School:
- English language arts: 23.6%
- Math: 25.0%
- Social studies: 21.4%
Etowah City Schools:
- English language arts: 34.0%
- Math: 34.0%
- Social studies: 30.6%
Several local districts finished above the statewide proficiency average.
Bradley County, Rhea County and Dayton City exceeded the state average in both English language arts and math.
Rhea County and Dayton City also outperformed the statewide average in social studies, while McMinn County matched the state average in that subject.
Hamilton County school leaders are expected to present a more detailed look at the district’s TCAP results during Thursday night’s school board meeting.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
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