It wasn’t enough for Tennessee Football to land its biggest commitment since Eric Berry this past weekend. Josh Heupel and the Vols also had to go after their arch-rival and the most dominant program in the sport the past 17 years on the recruiting trail. They managed to win in the process.
UT flipped Alabama Crimson Tide commit Jaedon Harmon. A four-star across all services for 2025, the Georgia linebacker had been committed to Bama since the beginning of April. Coming out of Rome High School in Floyd County, Ga., Harmon, who stands at roughly 6’1″ and weighs around 215 pounds, announced his commitment Sunday on his social media accounts.
Stealing a recruit from Alabama is huge for Tennessee Football. After all, despite Nick Saban’s retirement, the program has been red-hot still on the trail all summer with new head coach Kalen DeBoer, and why wouldn’t they be? DeBoer just took the Washington Huskies to the College Football Playoff.
Simply put, the Vols have to still recruit against a more-accomplished head coach and a better program, recently and historically, when going up against Bama. That makes Heupel’s steal from Alabama here all the more impressive, arguably as impressive as what he did Saturday, when five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr. committed to UT.
A look at Harmon’s highlight reel shows he is incredibly athletic and elite at both rushing the passer and dropping back in coverage. He is likely to be the heir apparent to Arion Carter, and given his level of competition, he looks like a guy who could be another star. UT clearly got an elite player.
With this pickup, Tennessee Football now has 23 commitments for 2024. Harmon joins Christian Gass as the two linebackers committed, and both hail from Georgia. Heupel has loaded up on a variety of talent all over the field for 2025, further proving he can recruit anywhere at any position.
