Former Tennessee tight end commitment Jonathan Echols flips to South Florida

Longtime Tennessee commitment Jonathan Echols on Friday flipped to South Florida, where he’ll play for former Tennessee offensive coordinator and current USF head coach Alex Golesh. Echols is ranked No. 240 overall in the On3 ratings in the 2024 recruiting cycle and is the No. 16 tight end. 

“Coach Golesh is my guy,” Echols told On3’s Chad Simmons. “I love the relationship that we have and I put my trust in him..The program is going back to where it has been. It is on its way up and I want to be a part of that. 

“He is a coach I believe in, I like his personality and he is always fired up. I think he can take USF far and I am excited about playing for him.”

Jonathan Echols was Tennessee’s first commitment in 2024 class

The 6-foot-4.5, 215-pound Echols, originally from Franklin, Ga., attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. He was the ninth highest-rated commitment in Tennessee’s 2024 class before flipping to USF.

Golesh, who was Echols primary recruiter at Tennessee, has South Florida back in a bowl game with a 6-6 record in his first season as head coach, facing Syracuse in the Boca Raton Bowl on December 21. The Bulls went 1-11 in 2021, including an 0-8 record in American Athletic Conference play.

Echols told Simmons he visited USF in September, watching a 42-29 win over Rice, and had been thinking about flipping his commitment over the past week.

“I started talking to the (USF) coaches more throughout the season,” Echols said. “After I took my official visit to USF last weekend, I left feeling good about USF, but I was still 50-50 between them and Tennessee.”

Echols committed to Tennessee on July 4, 2022, becoming the first commitment for the Vols in the class of 2024. 

Vols currently have 19 commitments in 2024

Tennessee currently has 19 commitments in the 2024 class, headlined by five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews and 11 other four-star prospects.

“I just decided to go with my gut and that was telling me USF,” Echols told Simmons. “I can’t even really explain it. Tennessee is great, and I never thought I would change my mind, but I went with my gut. I thought it for a few days, I prayed about it and I talked to my family about it and decided USF was the best school for me.”

The Vols this weekend are scheduled to host Notre Dame tight end Holden Staes, who recently entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

The 6-foot-4, 242-pound Staes spent the last two seasons with the Fighting Irish. He caught 15 passes for 176 yards and four touchdowns in 11 games this season, after catching one pass for 11 yards as a freshman in 2022. 

He was a four-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class out of Westminster School in Atlanta, Ga. He was ranked as the No. 9 tight end his class and was the No. 23 overall player in the state of Georgia. He was ranked No. 201 overall in the On3 ratings.