Tennessee football signs one of the country's top recruiting classes

All across the country, pen hit paper on Wednesday as many of the top recruits in the nation made their college decisions official as part of Early National Signing Day. 28 high schoolers signed national letters of intent with Tennessee. Nine of them were in-state recruits and another 10 were from bordering states. The class was ranked consensus top-10 across multiple services, with 247Sports and Rivals placing it seventh in the country. It's the highest ranked class in head coach Josh Heupel's tenure at Tennessee, and the highest for the Vols since 2015 that finished fourth. That class featured names such as Alvin Kamara, Jauan Jennings, and Darrell Taylor. The headliner of the class was North Carolina quarterback Faizon Brandon. Rated a five-star by 247Sports and ESPN, Brandon stands a 6-foot-3-and-a-half-inches tall and 200 pounds. As a junior, Brandon was named as the Gatorade and MaxPreps Player of the Year in North Carolina, and led Grimsley High School to an unbeaten record and a state championship. He is still in the hunt to repeat as a state champion, as Grimsley will host Weddington in the Region Final on Thursday night. "He's played at an elite level for a long time," Heupel said to the media on Wednesday. "His body continued to develop. He's got a great mind. He's extremely quick-minded. You combine all those factors, really excited about having him in the quarterback room and competing next fall. "Anytime you're able to get a quarterback that's at that level and is made of the right things, he's able to develop relationships with guys and help attract them. And he certainly did that in this recruiting class, really on both sides of the football." Heupel was able to pair Brandon with one of the top wide receivers in the class, Mississippi native Tristen Keys. Initially an LSU commit, Keys flipped to Tennessee in late August and signed early on Wednesday. With a frame of 6-foot-2, Keys was an Under Armour All-American and has both track and field and basketball in his background on top of football. "(Recievers coach) Kelsey (Pope) did a great job with him. Our staff did with TK," Heupel said. "His family, dynamic wide receiver, super loose at the line of scrimmage. He has the ability to stretch it vertically but it has ball in hand value as well. He has the ability to go attack the football. Dynamic player that is really excited about being here at Tennessee and we're excited to have him for sure." The class also features a bit of local flair as Greeneville's Zaydyn Anderson officially signed with the Vols. Anderson was one of Northeast Tennessee's biggest threats with the ball in his hands, accounting for 1,397 all-purpose yards and 19 all-purpose touchdowns. He signed to Tennessee to play defensive back. In the Greene Devils' secondary, he racked up a career 44 tackles, five interceptions, and a pair of defensive scores. Anderson was rated a four-star recruit by both 247Sports and Rivals. Heupel and his staff were also able to land multiple major flips on signing day. First was Carter Gooden, an edge rusher from Massachusetts. A consensus four-star, Gooden was committed to UCLA since mid-July, but flipped on Wednesday following his official visit last week. Then, just a few minutes later, wide receiver Legend Bey out of Texas signed his letter of intent to Tennessee. Bey, a four-star rated pass-catcher by 247Sports and Rivals, originally committed to UT, then changed his commitment to Ohio State in November. He flipped again to sign on Wednesday. Later in the afternoon, edge rusher Jordan Carter from Douglasville, Georgia, announced his commitment to Tennessee. He was previously committed to Texas A&M and chose the Vols over Georgia Tech and Auburn. The final flip came from Indiana defensive lineman JJ Finch. A three-star, Finch flipped from Alabama to Tennessee around 7 p.m. on Wednesday evening. It wasn't all positive on the flip front, as Utah athlete Salesi Moa signed with the Utes instead of the Vols late on Signing Day. The class wasn't just skill positions, as the Vols signed 11 players for the trenches, including eight defensive linemen. The highest rated of the linemen was offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda. A five-star according to 247Sports, Osenda stands at 6-foot-7, 300 pounds and attends Baylor School in Chattanooga. He started in the Navy All-American Game this past year.