Former Tennessee Vols assistant steals four-star recruit from Josh Heupel
Tennessee Volunteers' head coach Josh Heupel hasn't had the best week on the recruiting front. The Vols swung and missed on IMG Academy OT Jordan Seaton, who committed to the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday. Now, the Vols are down another recruit, and it's one they've had in their camp for a long time. TE Jonathan […]
Tennessee Volunteers' head coach Josh Heupel hasn't had the best week on the recruiting front. The Vols swung and missed on IMG Academy OT Jordan Seaton, who committed to the Colorado Buffaloes on Thursday.
Now, the Vols are down another recruit, and it's one they've had in their camp for a long time.
TE Jonathan Echols flipped his commitment from the Vols to Alex Golesh and the USF Bulls on Friday. Echols is the #13 overall tight end per 247 Sports' composite rankings and a four-star commit from IMG Academy in Bradenton. He had been committed to Tennessee since July 2022.
From a logistical perspective, the move isn't totally shocking. Echols played for IMG Academy in nearby Bradenton just like Seaton did, so it's simply possible he decided to stay home. It also might not be a loss that's totally caught the Vols off guard, as the Vols have been heavily seeking tight end help through the portal.
However, it's still not a very good look for Heupel to lose out on a recruit to a former assistant at a Group of Five program, especially with the Vols having a major roster need at the position due to losing their top two tight ends to graduation in McCallan Castles and Jacob Warren. Tennessee will be hosting Notre Dame transfer tight end Holden Staes over the weekend, one of the top tight ends in the transfer portal.
All things equal, it's a major recruiting win for Golesh, as he continues to build USF from a moribund afterthought in the college football world into a respectable program. He's already taken a big first step by making a bowl game in his first year. Taking a recruit of Echols' talent is another sign of progress for the first-year head coach.
Now, Tennessee will have one less player to call upon to try to answer a big question on its offense for 2024.
