Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said recently the Vols expect to play “elite” defense as long as he’s leading the program. To do so, Heupel and his staff will need to stockpile elite talent on the defensive side of the football.

That means winning battles for players like Sammy Brown.

The Jefferson (Ga.) High linebacker is ranked as the No. 1 player at his position in the 2024 class. He’s a 5-star and the 12th-ranked recruit in the country, according to the industry-generated 247 Composite.

It was revealed on Thursday that Tennessee will get an official visit from Brown the weekend of May 26. That will be the first of his officials — with all 5 scheduled.

Over each of the next 4 weekends, Brown will visit Clemson, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Ohio State (in that order). Each of the 5 schools set to host Brown are believed to be the top contenders for his signature.

Brown has been on Tennessee’s campus 5 times since Heupel landed in Knoxville. He visited for the Florida game last fall and was in town again during the spring period.

A 6-foot-2, 230-pounder, Brown started on both sides of the ball last fall for a Jefferson squad that went 8-3 and made Georgia’s AAAAA playoffs. In 11 games, he ran for 1,459 yards (at 8.1 per carry) and 21 touchdowns. On the other side of the ball, he totaled 113 tackles, 3 pass breakups, and an interception. As a sophomore, he had another 51 tackles, 5 tackles for loss, and 3 sacks despite missing time with an injury.

With a Composite score of .9928, Brown would be one of the 15 highest-rated recruits to join Tennessee during the recruiting services era.

There’s still plenty of work to be done for Tennessee, but securing an official is a major win for Heupel and Co.