Tennessee predicted to land elite 5-star recruit who is the son of a Vols football legend
On3’s Sam Spiegelman made a recruiting prediction this week that Tennessee Vols fans are going to love. Spiegelman made some predictions for some of the top 2027 recruits in the nation and he has Tennessee landing 2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the son of former Volunteers tight end Jason Witten. “Witten was in Rocky Top […]
On3’s Sam Spiegelman made a recruiting prediction this week that Tennessee Vols fans are going to love.
Spiegelman made some predictions for some of the top 2027 recruits in the nation and he has Tennessee landing 2027 five-star linebacker Cooper Witten, the son of former Volunteers tight end Jason Witten.
“Witten was in Rocky Top for the Big Orange Barbecue in May and will return for the Georgia game next month,” wrote Spiegelman. “Josh Heupel and the Volunteers have been working feverishly to keep the Tennessee tradition in the Witten Family and have staying power in this recruitment.”
Georgia, Ohio State, Clemson, Texas A&M, and Texas are also in the mix for Witten.
It’s still early in the battle for Witten, and it’s certainly not a foregone conclusion that he’ll land at Tennessee, but it sounds like the Vols are in a good spot for the five-star linebacker.
One reason why Tennessee has a good chance to land Witten is because they’re recruiting him like he’s not the son of a Vols legend.
“Where does Tennessee stand? I think Tennessee is obviously right there at or near the top,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price in June when asked about Cooper’s recruitment. “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.”
“I think Tennessee’s in a good spot (for Cooper),” added Price. “But again, I don’t think you can just assume, because he’s Jason’s kid, that he’s definitely coming to Tennessee. 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.”
Witten, 6-foot-2/210 lbs, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the N0. 1 linebacker in the nation and the No. 12 overall player in the 2027 recruiting class.
Tennessee Volunteers News
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