Tennessee 2024 National Signing Day Highlights

Written By Tucker Harlin

By Tucker Harlin

In case you weren’t aware, Tuesday was National Signing Day for 2025 football recruits across the country.

This day doesn’t carry the weight it did 10 years ago. Instead of waiting until December, many recruits will announce their commitments to programs in the summer months as a means to draw more attention to their decisions. While it goes against established traditions, it gives content creators in the world of sports journalism more to do in a dead period.

Tennessee officially signed 23 members to its 2025 class Tuesday. Three projected members of the class either didn’t sign Tuesday or flipped their commitments elsewhere.

Three star defensive lineman Darrion Smith out of Baltimore was the only flip of the three, pledging to Auburn instead of the Vols. Three star defensive back Onis Konanbanny didn’t sign anywhere, but he’s trending away from Tennessee and toward Florida.

The last of the three in the class not to sign was five star tackle David Sanders Jr. Ohio State has pushed hard for Sanders in recent weeks, but the latest intel suggests Sanders is safe with the Vols and signing next week with the rest of his high school’s athletes.

While most of the signees were committed for several months, there were a handful of National Signing Day surprises that went the way of the Vols Tuesday.

TIMOTHY MERRITT

Three star safety Timothy Merritt was committed to Miami at the beginning of the day but flipped to the Vols early in the afternoon.

Merritt played at Parker High School in downtown Birmingham, AL. He is the second Vol in the class from the area as corner Sidney Walton is from Moody, just east of Birmingham on I-20.

Merritt did the traditional hat throw as a part of his commitment video. He may or may not have yelled some profanity in the process.

ISAIAH CAMPBELL

This one isn’t as much of a surprise as Merritt, but recent events had four star defensive lineman Isaiah Campbell trending toward the Vols late in the recruiting cycle.

Campbell decommitted from Clemson early in the cycle, and Tennessee immediately became a frontrunner to land him. North Carolina entered the mix about a month later, solidifying Campbell’s recruitment as a two-team race.

However, North Carolina decided to make a course correction for the program and part ways with head coach Mack Brown, a move that rarely keeps the commitments of both recruits and current players in today’s college athletics landscape.

Campbell is from Durham, NC. The Tar Heel State is a critical pipeline to the success of the Tennessee football program, producing names like Heath Shuler, Jay Graham, Hendon Hooker, and James Pearce over the years.

Campbell and fellow defensive lineman Charles House from the Charlotte area are the two Vols from North Carolina in this 2025 class.

JADON PERLOTTE

Rumblings of another flip from USC to Tennessee percolated across the internet early Tuesday morning. Four star linebacker Jadon Perlotte made the move official late Tuesday afternoon.

Perlotte committed to the Trojans in July. He flipped to Tennessee just weeks after three star running back Daune Morris from Murfreesboro made his decision.

Hailing from the talent-rich area of Buford, GA, Perlotte joins three star running back and high school teammate Justin Baker as the second Vol from Buford in the class.

With Perlotte’s commitment, the Vols now have six signees in their 2025 class from Georgia.

Tucker Harlin
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