Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel might need a favor from UT basketball coach Rick Barnes
One of the top players in the 2026 recruiting class said this week that he "fell in love with being in Knoxville". 2026 five-star tight end Kendre Harrison is one of the Tennessee Vols' top recruiting targets. Harrison, 6-foot-7/243 lbs from Reidsville, NC is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 tight end in the […]
One of the top players in the 2026 recruiting class said this week that he "fell in love with being in Knoxville".
2026 five-star tight end Kendre Harrison is one of the Tennessee Vols' top recruiting targets.
Harrison, 6-foot-7/243 lbs from Reidsville, NC is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 tight end in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina (behind five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, also a Vols recruiting target). Harrison is also rated as the No. 6 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
Florida State, Georgia, LSU, North Carolina, Oregon, and Penn State are the other teams in the mix for Harrison, who is also an elite basketball player (he hopes to play both sports at the next level).
Harrison has a visit to Tennessee coming up on June 16, but he's already a big fan of the city thanks to previous visits.
"A lot of my friends and family friends live up there, so they’ve showed me around Knoxville," said Harrison to On3 recently. "I just fell in love with being in Knoxville. I love going to Knoxville, the school, the city and the mall there. That’s really what stands out about Tennessee. Also, (tight end) coach Alec Abeln is a great guy."
Josh Heupel might need some help from Rick Barnes
The ability to also play basketball in college could be a determining factor in Harrison's recruitment.
"I have to make sure that some of the schools that I keep in are places where I can play both sports," said Harrison to On3. "Most of the time, I have to make sure I can play both at any school. Trying to tell people that I want to play both is hard because they think I want to play basketball more than football or football more than basketball. But I’m trying to tell them that I want to play both."
Vols head coach Josh Heupel might need an assist from UT basketball coach Rick Barnes if Tennessee is going to have a legitimate chance to land Harrison.
Harrison is rated as four-star recruit in basketball, so if Barnes does Heupel a favor and gives Harrison a chance to play basketball at Tennessee, he might be doing himself a favor, too.
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