5-star recruit who is the son of a Vols legend includes Tennessee among his top schools
The son of a Tennessee Vols legend included the Vols among his top schools this week.
The son of a Tennessee Vols legend included UT among his top schools this week.
2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the son of former Volunteers tight end Jason Witten, included Tennessee among his top 10 schools, along with Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Texas, Clemson, Ohio State, Texas Tech, Georgia, Texas A&M, and Alabama.
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 the son of a Vols legend
The fact that Witten is the son of a Vols legend is obviously an advantage for Tennessee.
But the Vols’ coaching staff isn’t leaning on that connection in this recruiting battle. Instead, Tennessee is recruiting Cooper like his last name isn’t Witten.
“Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price in June 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.”
There’s a long way to go in this recruiting battle, but the Vols are certainly doing a great job to this point.
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