The Tennessee Vols are in an unlikely recruiting battle against Greg Schiano and Rutgers. 

Tennessee and Rutgers are both in pursuit of 2025 four-star offensive lineman Jaelyne Matthews. 

Matthews, 6-foot-5/305 lbs from Toms River, NJ, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 26 offensive tackle in the nation and the No. 7 player in the state of New Jersey. 

The talented offensive lineman is fresh off an official visit to Rutgers, a trip that Matthews says went well, but didn't necessarily vault the Scarlet Knights to the top of his list. 

"They're definitely a top five school in my recruitment like I had before, but nothing has really changed," said Matthews to 247Sports after his visit. 

Matthews, though, told USA Today before his official visit to Rutgers that the Scarlet Knights have a legitimate chance to win this recruiting battle. 

“Because being wanted by your home town team is a big deal and a lot of people think Jaelyne’s not going to go to Rutgers, but they for sure have a fair shot," said Matthews recently.

The New Jersey native has an official visit to Tennessee set for June 14. The Vols are currently the favorites to land Matthews, though programs like Georgia, Miami, and Ole Miss are also in the mix. 

Greg Schiano and the Tennessee Vols have quite the history 

It's been seven years since Tennessee nearly hired Greg Schiano to replace Butch Jones before an fan revolt halted the hiring process. 

Schiano, who was an assistant coach at Ohio State at the time, has never said much publicly about Tennessee's failed attempt to hire him in late 2017, but there's undoubtedly some hard feelings from Schiano toward the Vols. 

Tennessee doesn't cross paths often with Schiano on the recruiting trail. But on the rare occasion that it happens, it's always a battle that the Vols absolutely can't lose. 

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