Okay, it’s time for Tennessee to worry. After reports surfaced that five-star David Sanders Jr. won’t sign with the Vols Wednesday but they are in good standing with him, another highly touted prospect is not going to sign with them either.
Onis Konanbanny, a four-star defensive back on 247Sports Composite out of South Carolina, is now not signing with them on the first day of the Early Signing Period either. He confirmed it with a story on his Instagram account Wednesday.
Like Sanders, Konanbanny is flirting with another school, in his case the Florida Gators. Unlike Sanders, all signs are pointing to him flipping to Florida despite having been committed to Tennessee since late August leading into the start of football season.
ON3 and 247Sports reporters are now all projecting that the 2025 prospect out of Heathwood Hall Episcopal School in Columbia, S.C., will flip to Billy Napier’s program. He could end up waiting until the official National Signing Day in February to make up his mind.
If Konanbanny did flip to Florida, he would follow another defensive back, Lagonza Hayward, who also signed with UF Wednesday, three days after decommitting from UT. Hayward, who hails from Georgia, was a four-star across the board and a huge blow to Josh Heupel’s program.
Losing two elite players like that in the secondary to Florida just as Florida enjoyed a strong finish to the end of the season is never a good long-term sign. Sure, the Vols could still finish with a solid recruiting class, and they could upgrade further in the transfer portal, but Heupel should be doing much better than Napier on the trail.
Remember, Florida is the program that had to back out of NIL promises!
Anyway, to quote Woody from “Toy Story,” this is a perfect time to panic. Regardless of what happens, you don’t want to see your recruiting momentum slip away as Signing Day approaches, and that’s exactly what has happened at Tennessee. Maybe they can get it back during the College Football Playoff.
