Tennessee has no choice but to make an awkward move after Josh Heupel’s hand was forced by Ohio State
The Tennessee Volunteers are battling the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Ole Miss Rebels for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges.
The Tennessee Vols entered the weekend feeling like they were in the pole position in the recruiting battle for 2027 five-star running back David Gabriel Georges, a Quebec native who attends Baylor School in Chattanooga.
But the Ohio State Buckeyes regained some momentum on Friday by offering unrated 2027 defensive back Jordan Darren Djila — a high school teammate of Gabriel Georges who didn’t previously have an offer from any Power-4 programs.
According to On3’s Steve Wiltfong, Darren Djila is “best friends” with Gabriel Georges.
And Gabriel Georges was very excited to see Darren Djila, who is also from Canada, receive an offer from Ohio State.
Tennessee probably needs to make the same move Ohio State just made
A couple of Gabriel Georges’ former Baylor School teammates are currently on Tennessee’s roster — Jamyan Theodore, Gabe Osenda, and Joakim Dodson — but it appears the five-star running back is especially close with Darren Djila.
If this recruiting battle is truly a coin toss, it’s not unreasonable to think that Darren Djila having the opportunity to play at Ohio State could be the “tiebreaker” for Gabriel Georges.
And if that’s the case, then I think Josh Heupel and the Vols have no choice but to extend an offer to Darren Djila. Now, it’ll be obvious that Tennessee is making the move in an effort to land Gabriel Georges, but that’s also clearly what Ohio State was doing by offering the unrated defensive back. Just because the Buckeyes beat the Vol to the punch doesn’t change that Ohio State extended the offer to help its pursuit of Gabriel Georges.
It will feel a bit awkward to offer Darren Djila immediately after Ohio State did so, but I think Tennessee is in a spot where they pretty much have to — every advantage matters in this recruiting battle.