The son of a Tennessee Vols legend is expected to a take a recruiting visit to Athens this weekend for the Georgia Bulldogs’ big game against the Texas Longhorns.

2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the son of former Tennessee tight end Jason Witten, is planning to visit Georgia this weekend according to Rivals.com’s Steve Wiltfong.

“Rivals No. 1 ranked linebacker Cooper Witten is expected (in Athens) after he wasn’t able to visit earlier in the season,” wrote Wiltfong. “Tennessee, Oklahoma and Texas A&M are three in fantastic shape right now.”

Witten, 6-foot-2/210 lbs from Argyle, TX, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 1 linebacker in the nation and the No. 4 player in the state of Texas. He’s also rated as the No. 21 overall player in the 2027 recruiting class.

Tennessee is recruiting Cooper Witten like he’s not Jason Witten’s son

Tennessee isn’t banking on Cooper’s status as a Vol legacy being the difference in this recruiting battle.

Instead, the Vols are recruiting Cooper as if he has no previous connection to Tennessee.

“Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price this past summer when asked about Cooper during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone . “I think he’s very conscious to really push the, ‘Don’t just assume I’m going to Tennessee because my dad went there’. Now, I hear that a lot from legacy kids, and rightfully so. They’re their own person. They have to be treated as such. Just because dad went there doesn’t mean they’re automatically going to go there.

“But Tennessee is not recruiting him like that. Tennessee’s recruiting him as if his name is Cooper Smith or Cooper Johnson — just a very generic name, not Witten.”

“Again, I don’t think you can just assume, because he’s Jason’s kid, that he’s definitely coming to Tennessee,” added Price. “But mom loves the Vols. Jason obviously played here. He loves the Vols. So ultimately, I think Cooper knows deep down where his mom and dad would love for him to go, but he’s got to come to that decision. Recruiting him as if his last name’s not Witten helps get to that point. Tennessee has done a really nice job to this point of recruiting him, and others are not going to go away….the only way I see him not coming here is if he just says, I’ve lived in Texas my whole life, I want to stay in the state of Texas. If he leaves the state, I’d be stunned if it’s not Tennessee. I think that’s the only way that it doesn’t end up being Tennessee, in the end, is if he chooses to stay home in the state of Texas.”

The Vols seem to be in a good spot for Cooper. But anytime a recruiting target visits Georgia, it’s a concern.

This won’t be an easy recruiting battle for the Vols to win, but Tennessee appears to have the inside track for now.

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