Tennessee continues push toward Top-10 class in Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings

Tennessee picked up a crucial recruiting win on Tuesday evening as Marietta (Ga.) Kell four-star linebacker Brayden Rouse pledged to the Volunteers over Texas.

It was a tight battle between the SEC programs this summer, but head coach Josh Heupel and the Vols have gone back into Georgia for another key blue-chipper on the defensive side of the ball. Rouse provides Tennessee with a nice bump in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, too.

With the 6-foot-3, 205-pounder now in the fold, Tennessee jumped Penn State and Florida in the team rankings and now check in at No. 13 nationally. That’s good for No. 5 in the SEC.

Rouse is the No. 100 overall prospect and No. 7 LB in the 2026 cycle. He forms an elite LB duo on Rocky Top alongside fellow top-100 LB commit TJ White.

“They made me and my family feel very comfortable. Every time we were there, it felt like one big family,” Rouse said about the Vols when speaking with Rivals’ Chad Simmons about his decision.

Tennessee notches another big summer win

The addition of Rouse brings Tennessee up to 19 commits this cycle. He’s the third top-100 recruit in the class, flanking White and Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley five-star quarterback pledge Faizon Brandon.

The Vols snagged Brandon’s commitment nearly a year ago last August. He remains the class jewel and now ranks as the nation’s No. 13 overall prospect and No. 3 QB.

“It wasn’t an easy decision, but I knew it was Tennessee,” Brandon told Simmons. “The feeling for them was different and it never changed. My relationships with coaches on both sides of the ball and the support system make it feel like home at Tennessee.”

White and his Jackson Academy (Miss.) teammate, four-star defensive lineman Dereon Albert, both committed on July 1. Other July pledges for the Vols include Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern three-star DL Daryl Rivers, Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School three-star cornerback Jamyan Theodore, Jackson (Tenn.) North Side three-star wide receiver Javonte Smith and now Rouse.

Clearwater (Fla.) Baylor School four-star offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda is on the cusp of top-100 status, as is Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic four-star WR Tyreek King. Osenda is the nation’s No. 9 OT, while King is the No. 17 wideout.

Other top commits in the mix for Heupel and Co. include: Cross Plains (Tenn.) East Robertson four-star EDGE Zach Groves, North Forney (Texas) four-star athlete Legend Bey, Nashville DCA four-star tight end Carson Sneed, Ashburn (Va.) Stone Bridge four-star EDGE Kedric Golston II and Greeneville (Tenn.) three-star corner Zaydyn Anderson.