Tennessee took pride in its defensive line depth last season. For that to continue or maybe even become a mainstay, a restock is in order.
Keyshawn Stancil, a 2026 prospect who is expected to play defensive tackle, could be a boost for the Vols as soon as he’s ready to play. Tennessee lost four contributors from last year. Omari Thomas, Omarr Norman-Lott and Elijah Simmons are out of eligibility. Jayson Jenkins decided to transfer to Florida State.
Stancil, a four-star defensive line prospect from Clayton High School in Johnston County, N.C., recently told 247Sports that he would visit Tennessee during its junior day on Jan. 25. It won’t be his first time in Knoxville. In fact, he’s visited the Vols three times in the last four months.
Other schools are also calling. Stancil, who is rated the 319th best prospect in the nation, the 39th best prospect in North Carolina and the 15th best defense line prospect in the country has over 20 scholarship offers. He’ll visit Miami this weekend.
Georgia, Penn State, North Carolina State and Tennessee have been the hottest on Stancil’s trail, he says. While he may not be the highest-rated prospect in the country, he resides in a key recruiting area for the Vols. Tennessee has continued to make a hard push in recruiting North Carolina, as it should.
The Vols have historically been at their best when they’ve had success recruiting in the Tar Heel State, especially in the 1990s and early 2000s. Josh Heupel has had some success recruiting there but not nearly enough.
UT has landed highly rated prospects such as EDGE rusher James Pearce, Jr., who is headed to the NFL, five-star offensive tackle David Sanders, Jr., who is part of the 2025 class and five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, who committed to the Tennessee’s 2026 class. That’s a pretty good foothold, but it needs to grow even larger.
In Heupel’s first full year in recruiting in 2021, Tennessee signed three high school prospects from North Carolina. Running back Jaylen Wright was the only one to have an impact. Pearce was their only signee from there in the 2022 class. Tennessee signed defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs and receiver Nathan Leacock in the 2023 class. Hobbs is progressing nicely, but Leacock has hit the portal.
In 2024, the Vols didn’t sign a single high school prospect from North Carolina. That’s not good. Along with Sanders, the Vols signed four-star defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell and three-star defensive lineman Charles House from North Carolina in the 2025 class. Just two?
For the 2026 class, Tennessee recently received a commitment from three-star receiver Tyran Evans in addition to Brandon. Still, the Vols need to boost those North Carolina numbers.
Landing at least five highly rated prospects in every recruiting class from North Carolina should be a goal for Tennessee – and it appears as if they might be headed that way. The Vols are ramping up recruiting there.
Of all the areas in the country, North Carolina may be the Vols’ best chance to land a championship-worthy roster given the talent in the state and the level of recruiting competition amongst other schools. After all, it’s much easier to beat any of the schools in North Carolina compared to Georgia. Atlanta may have more talent, but every other college football recruiter in the nation knows that all too well.
There is no question that recruiting North Carolina is a priority. Stancil, who is 6-foot-3 and 260 pounds, is a big part of that.
