The Tennessee Vols received some bad news that everyone knew was coming, but it came way sooner than anyone expected
The Tennessee Vols received some tough news on Tuesday afternoon.
The Tennessee Vols received some tough recruiting news on Tuesday afternoon.
2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the son of Vols legend Jason Witten, announced his commitment to the Oklahoma Sooners.
Cooper is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 linebacker in the 2027 recruiting class.
“Oklahoma made an impression on me from the beginning because Coach Venables was the first coach to offer me,” said Cooper to Rivals of his decision to commit to the Sooners. “I strongly believe in the vision he has for me and where the program is going.”
Cooper’s commitment to Oklahoma doesn’t come as a huge surprise due to the fact that his dad was recently hired as the Sooners’ new tight ends coach.
Interestingly, though, Jason reportedly called Vols head coach Josh Heupel before joining Oklahoma’s staff. Jason made the call because wanted Heupel and Tennessee to continue to recruit his son.
“The elder Witten called Heupel before the news broke to tell him to keep recruiting his son and said Cooper is going through his own process,” noted On3’s Steve Wiltfong last month.
Because of that phone call, this recruiting battle was expected to continue deep into the summer, which is why the timing of the news was surprising.
Tennessee will likely continue to keep tabs on Cooper, but unless Witten leaves Oklahoma’s coaching staff after the 2026 season, it seems unlikely that Heupel and his staff will be able to flip the Vol legacy.
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