UT Football Adds Big Commitment In 4-Star D-Lineman
Image: Tennessee Athletics
By Aidan Sidoti
Tennessee Football recruiting is on a scorching hot stretch right now, and the Vols are showing they want to keep that momentum going into July.
Josh Heupel and the Vols continued their surge of commitments on Tuesday with the pledge of four-star defensive lineman Dareon Albert, per Rivals’ Hayes Fawcett.
The 6-foot-2, 305-pound interior defender out of Jackson Academy in Mississippi chose the Volunteers over offers from North Carolina, LSU, and Mississippi State.
Albert becomes the first true interior D-Line commitment in the 2026 cycle for UT and joins a stacked front-seven class that already includes edge rushers Zach Groves, Kedric Golston II, and CJ Edwards.
247 Sports tabs Albert as the No. 184 overall prospect in the country and the No. 8 player in the state of Mississippi. Entering his senior season, Albert has already compiled an eye-popping 22.5 sacks through three seasons at Jackson Academy.
Defensive Line coach Rodney Garner led this recruitment from the start and it paid off in a huge way. After his first and only visit so far to Knoxville in June, the elite defender told VolReport “I liked everything. The coaches, the facility, the people. It felt like home, everybody was there. I liked the program, I liked it all."
