Growing up a Florida fan didn’t change Joakim Dodson’s opinions when it came to his recruitment. The three-star wide receiver announced he was committing to Tennessee football on Saturday.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound receiver chose the Vols over Missouri, Indiana, Georgia Tech and Vanderbilt. He ranks as the No. 546 prospect overall in the 2025 class and the No. 80 wide receiver. He is also the No. 15 prospect from Tennessee.
“My relationships with the staff,” Dodson said. “Like my relationship with the staff was amazing and they’ve been recruiting me since before I got the offer, kind of started at the end of my ninth-grade year. So been going to camp, been talking to them when the cycle started and I just felt like a priority for them. But most of all, my relationship with the whole offensive staff was amazing. So it was an easy decision for me.
“Every school you go to has nice buildings, has nice facilities. Everybody’s gonna tell you this, tell you that. But people have to show you you’re a priority and you have to have a valued relationship with them so you can trust them because those are going to be your coaches when you’re there. So if you can’t trust them, like it’s not going to work. You got to trust them with a lot.”
The three-star receiver out of Collierville High School in Collierville, Tennessee, finished his junior season 52 receptions for 1,012 total yards and 10 total touchdowns. He was also a First Team 6A Region 8 selection as well as a TSWA 6A All-state.
He was recently in Knoxville for Tennessee’s junior day, getting to build his relationship with Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel.
“He’s really amazing,” Dodson said. “I can’t even say it. He calls me, texts me like ever since that contact period. And it’s been crazy, like the times like he’s been free and able to come see me.
He’s come to see me, always making me feel like I’m a priority.
“Our relationship is amazing. It’s not even with me like pretty much with the whole Tennessee staff. It’s like my family, like our relationship as a whole.”
Five-star quarterbacks George MacIntyre, Nico Iamaleava play into decision
Dodson has had conversations with current Tennessee commitment and five-star quarterback Georgia MacIntyre. MacIntyre has echoed the message the staff was telling Dodson — “come join the family.”
Their relationship is still young, but the continuity at quarterback played a role in Dodson’s decision.
“It’s really huge,” Dodson said. “Even going in my freshman year, like Nico would still be a quarterback my freshman year. So that’s actually huge.
“Then you got another great guy coming in behind because being a receiver’s only gonna be as great as the quarterback, the quarterback has to delivery the ball. He’s the guy that’s running the offense. You need a great quarterback at the end of the day. So having both of those guys in there, it’s very important on the decision because those are two of the top talented guys in the country.”
