‘I think he could be the next Jalon Walker’ – Tennessee landed a player that’s already reminding analysts of a first round pick
The Tennessee Vols made some big-time additions this offseason.
The Tennessee Vols’ 2026 recruiting class is headlined by three five-star recruits — quarterback Faizon Brandon, wide receiver Tristen Keys, and offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda.
There’s another player the Vols signed that just barely missed out on five-star status.
2026 four-star linebacker TJ White finished the recruiting cycle as the No. 34 overall player in the nation, according to 247Sports.
Only the top 32 players are rated as five-stars.
Recruiting analyst says TJ White reminds him of former Georgia standout Jalon Walker
247Sports recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins said this week that White reminds him of former Georgia Bulldogs linebacker Jalon Walker.
“I joked two months ago that for the first time in a while we were going to have more five-stars than actual spots in our first-round projection, and that ended up ringing true,” said Ivins this week. “The prospect who already has me tossing and turning is Tennessee signee TJ White. I think he could be the next Jalon Walker, and the data from the same stage would agree.”
“White — like Walker — can be positioned both on and off the ball,” added Ivins. “He’s a natural block destructor who uses power and leverage to navigate busy intersections. The Gatorade Mississippi Player of the Year can flatten and get to the quarterback when asked to attack the corner and also match patterns when asked to drop back into space. There’s a lot to like about White, who had one of the better weeks at the 2026 Navy All-American Bowl when we dug back into the footage.”
Walker was selected by the Atlanta Falcons in the first round (No. 15 overall) of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was a first-team All-American at Georgia in 2024.
White hasn’t played a down of college football yet, so it’s not totally fair to put these types of expectations on him. But at the same time, it’s clear that Ivins sees elite potential in the Mississippi native.
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