Tennessee wasn’t playing South Carolina on the field, but in the recruiting world, the Volunteers got one up on the Gamecocks on Thursday morning.
That’s because 4-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair decided to flip his commitment from South Carolina to Tennessee, Blair told On3.
The mammoth 6-foot-6, 285-pounder from Clarksville, Tenn., has apparently decided to stay in-state and play Josh Heupel’s surging program beginning in 2026. This is a major departure from what Blair had made known previously, because he had been committed to South Carolina since July.
Blair is quite the prize for Tennessee and gives the Vols a major recruiting win for the simple reason that he’s an in-state talent and losing him to South Carolina would’ve hurt. According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Blair is the 294th-ranked player in the Class of 2026. Blair is also the 27th-ranked offensive tackle and the 9th-ranked player from the state of Tennessee, according to the composite rankings.
With his flip, Tennessee now has 23 commitments from its 2026 recruiting class. In the composite class rankings, Tennessee’s 2026 class is currently ranked 11th. SEC rival Georgia is ranked first.
Blair not only flipped from South Carolina, he had a number of other Power 4 programs on his wish list, including Ole Miss, as well as Kentucky, Penn State, Virginia Tech and Louisville.
He’ll be playing in the SEC, as previously thought. It’ll just be in Knoxville instead of Columbia.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
