Four-star wide receiver Travis Smith Jr. was fresh off an 11-catch, 216-yard game when he visited Tennessee football for its matchup with Georgia.
His conversations with head coach Josh Heupel and wide receiver coach Kelsey Pope revolved around that, as well as the future for the prospect.
“Really Coach Heupel and Coach Pope, those two guys, they’ve really been on it for the most part,” Smith said. “And a couple of other assistants have been in the rotation, but you know, those two guys, they’ve been the main guys giving phone calls and just checking up on me to see how I’m doing.”
Smith ranks as the No. 198 overall prospect in the 2025 class and the No. 26 wide receiver, according to 247Sports Composite. He attends Westlake High School in Atlanta, and is the No. 25 prospect out of Georgia.
The coaching staff currently keeps in touch with Smith at least once weekly.
“It’s pretty much been every once a week I’d say, right before the Friday night game is,” Smith said. “They’ll check in on me to see how my mind is coming into the game.
“It is amazing. It definitely shows how much of a priority I am to their program and it shows me how much they really are looking forward to seeing you there.”
The staff talked about pairing Smith with current 2024 commitment and five-star receiver Mike Matthews. Matthews is also from Georgia.
“They see me as one of the No. 1 guys alongside the receivers they have,” Smith said. “They keep talking about Mike Matthews. They really want to pair us up to see the two Georgia boys can really bring Tennessee higher up in the rankings.”
Smith also spent time with 2025 athlete Cameron Sparks during his visit to Tennessee. The two played AAU basketball against each other as well as played on the same 7v7 football circuit.
“We just chopped it up talking about how great it would be being a volunteer,” Smith said.
As for the environment, it was highlighted by a 75-yard touchdown run from Jaylen Wright on the first play of the game. Smith said it was his highlight of the weekend.
“On the first play, that was probably the most exciting moment I’ve had in a recruiting, game recruiting visit,” Smith said. “Just seeing how live and how loud Neyland Stadium was at that particular moment. That was amazing. It was just crazy, that was definitely a highlight point the fans. They have all love to the Volunteers and all of that, but they need them some dogs, so it was good seeing the competitiveness.”
Smith mentioned Auburn, Georgia, Oregon and Colorado as some of the schools most active in his recruitment currently. He will be attending the Iron Bowl for the final weekend of the season.
Tennessee will be among the top schools Smith releases, following his visit and the relationships built with the coaching staff.
“Definitely high up in the top five,” Smith said. “My top eight will be coming up soon, but they’re definitely higher up in the top eight, top five I have.”
