Tennessee Vols will have to battle Bill Belichick for an elite 2026 defensive back from North Carolina
The Tennessee Vols are one of several high profile programs that are in the mix for 2026 four-star cornerback Samari Matthews. Matthews, 6-foot/180 lbs from Cornelius, NC, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 6 cornerback in the nation and the No. 7 player in the state of North Carolina. He's also rated […]
The Tennessee Vols are one of several high profile programs that are in the mix for 2026 four-star cornerback Samari Matthews.
Matthews, 6-foot/180 lbs from Cornelius, NC, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 6 cornerback in the nation and the No. 7 player in the state of North Carolina. He's also rated as the No. 65 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.
The talented defensive back told On3 this week that he's hoping to visit Tennessee in the next few weeks. Matthews is also expected to take visits to Clemson, Florida State, and South Carolina.
We'll have a better idea of where Tennessee stands in Matthews' recruitment after his next round of visits (Matthews visited Tennessee several times last year).
One thing we do already know about Matthews' recruitment, however, is that if a program is going to win this recruiting battle, it'll mean beating arguably the greatest football coach of all time.
Legendary former NFL coach Bill Belichick, who was recently hired as the head coach at North Carolina, has made Matthews a priority for the Tar Heels.
Belichick hit the road recruiting this week and he checked in on Matthews.
There are a lot of unknowns when it comes to Belichick coaching at the college level, but there's no doubt that his name and his incredible resumé will be attractive to high school recruits.
Matthews is expected to make his next visit to Tennessee on January 25.
