Tennessee stays scorching hot on trail, lands 2026 defensive lineman
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Tennessee has been on an absolute scorcher lately on the recruiting trail, and its run of form continued over the weekend when it landed a commitment from Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern defensive lineman Darryl Rivers.
The 6-foot-5 Rivers chose coach Josh Heupel and his Vols over Mississippi State, Georgia Tech, and Rutgers. Rivers also held offers from Auburn and Georgia. He took official visits to each of his top 4 schools throughout the months of May and June, and he told GoVols247 that Tennessee had been his “dream school” since he first started playing organized football.
Rivers is a 3-star recruit in the industry-generated 247 Composite. He is ranked as the No. 70 prospect from the state of Georgia and the No. 71 defensive lineman in the class. In the national player rankings, he sits at No. 632 overall. The 270-pound defender still has some technical fine-tuning to do, but he has physical traits that just can’t be taught. He has a massive wingspan and the size to move around a bit on the line.
His Hudl tape credits Rivers with 60 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 2 pass breakups as a junior last fall.
Rivers becomes the 17th known commitment for Heupel in the 2026 cycle. The Vols already have 4 commitments just in the month of July. And since June 27, Tennessee has gained 8 public pledges.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
