Tennessee trending for On3 top-100 prospect Christian Gass

Covington (Ga.) Eastside four-star linebacker Christian Gass is set to make his commitment on Saturday as he choose between Tennessee, Georgia and USC.

Each of the three programs got an official visit this summer, and all have some similarities between them, he told On3’s Chad Simmons earlier this month.

“The people are definitely a big factor, going to each school, there’s some I’ve been to once, some I’ve been to a couple times,” Gass said. “The people I could tell are real genuine. On top of that, the coaches at each program are all coaches I feel like I could learn from. Those are all coaches that not only care about football, but care about me as a person. That’s what’s really big to me.”

In what has been considered an extremely tight race going down to the end, one team has now taken a commanding lead in the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine (RPM).

Tennessee holds the lead after an expert pick from Simmons on Friday a little more than 24 hours out from decision time.

Connection to coaching staff, energy in the program is big for Gass

Academics and life after football are a big factor that all three have in common. But the Vols — and the way they’ve recruited him — stands out to Gass.

“My big thing was they have real, genuine love, too,” he told Simmons. “Coach (Mike Ekeler), he’s definitely an energy guy. He’s big on energy and told me each and every day that I was a priority and I was important to him, not only as a player but as a person. He really just sits there and watches everything I do and that’s big for me. Going up there and watching film, knowing I can go through their schemes and that I can really understand that, that’s a big thing for me.”

Gass also feels like Tennessee can develop him both to be successful in college and hopefully beyond.

The 6-foot-2, 220-pounder is the No. 225 overall prospect and No. 25 linebacker in the 2025 class, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

On3, however, is much higher on him than the other three services. In the most recent On300 rankings, Gass was tabbed as the country’s No. 85 recruit and No. 6 linebacker prospect.