The Tennessee Vols aren’t among the top five schools for a 5-star recruit who was visited by Josh Heupel earlier this year
The Tennessee Vols received some unwelcome recruiting news on Tuesday afternoon. The Vols learned they’re not among the top five schools for an elite five-star cornerback they’ve been pursuing.
A 2027 five-star recruit that the Tennessee Vols have shown interest in is apparently no longer considering UT.
2027 five-star cornerback Joshua Dobson has been a Vols target for the last couple of years, and he was visited by Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel earlier this year.
Dobson, though, didn’t include the Volunteers in his top five schools this week.
The five-star defensive back included LSU, Texas A&M, South Carolina, Michigan and Auburn in his top five.
LSU and Texas A&M are viewed as the favorites to land Dobson, with the Tigers holding a slight edge.
Why didn’t Joshua Dobson include Tennessee among his top schools?
Dobson was scheduled to visit Tennessee in January for the Vols’ basketball game against Kentucky, but he ended up visiting Texas A&M instead.
It’s unclear why Tennessee faded with Dobson, who is rated as the No. 11 overall player in the nation (via 247Sports composite rankings), but one reason may be because the Vols moved on from secondary coach Willie Martinez earlier this offseason.
Dobson had a solid relationship with Martinez.
“Their cornerbacks coach, Willie Martinez, is really smart,” said Dobson to On3 in early 2025. “He knows what he’s doing. I like the way they go about things. They’re very family-oriented and they stand out to me a lot right now. I like it. They care about not only you, but also your family.”
Dobson almost certainly won’t be signing with Tennessee out of high school, but the Vols’ relationship with the elite cornerback could still pay off down the road if he ever enters the NCAA transfer portal.