Tennessee beats out South Carolina, Ohio State for 4-star OT out of North Carolina
By Andrew Olson
Published:
J.B. Shabazz has found a home on Rocky Top.
The offensive lineman announced his commitment on Friday. He chose Tennessee over 20 other scholarship offers.
Out of Kernersville (North Carolina) East Forsyth High School, Shabazz is listed as measuring 6-6 and 315 pounds. On the 247Sports Composite, Shabazz is rated 4-stars, the No. 16 player in the state of North Carolina, No. 29 offensive tackle and No. 320 prospect overall in the Class of 2026.
Shabazz drew notable interest from Power 4 conference programs. Auburn, Florida State, Florida, Louisville, Georgia, North Carolina and LSU were among the programs to extend scholarship offers.
Earlier in the week, Shabazz narrowed things down by naming Tennessee, Ohio State and South Carolina as his final 3. He had a little fun with the hats on the table.
Newest 4 Tennessee commit J.B. Shabazz fakes out South Carolina and Ohio State before his commitment to the Vols pic.twitter.com/90S1hqZsrH
— Vol Report (@AllVolReport) July 11, 2025
With Shabazz on board, Josh Heupel’s staff has 21 players verbally committed for 2026. Tennessee’s class currently ranks No. 12 nationally on the Composite.
Vols fans can get a preview of what Shabazz brings to Knoxville by checking out his highlights in the clip below, via Hudl:
Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.
