Third-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and his staff continue to recruit future Vols.
The Vols have five signings for 2024, led by four-star stars Jonathan Echols (athlete), JJ Harrell (wide receiver) and Kaleb Beasley (cornerback).
According to the On3 Sports consensus, the Vols currently have the #9 recruiting class and the #5 recruiting class in the Southeastern Conference.
Tennessee landed its first wide receiver engagement with Harrell. Harrell is the No. 13 wide receiver in the class of 2024, according to On3 Sports.
Vols Wire breaks down Tennessee’s top 2024 wide receiver goals. The top wide receiver targets for the Vols are listed below.
Mike Matthews
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 180 pounds
Secondary school: Park View (Lilburn, Georgia)
National ranking (On3 consensus): #6
Position ranking: #3
Ranking of the states: No. 2
Matthews was named 2022 Gwinnett County Wide Receiver of the Year. He also received first-team All-State, All-County, and All-Region honors last season. Matthews finished his junior season with 48 receptions, 1,031 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns.
Matthews is a consensus top 5 wide receiver and a top 25 overall contender in the Class of 2024.
He unofficially visited Tennessee on October 15, 2022 when Tennessee defeated Alabama and on Junior Day.
Joshisa Merchant
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 175 pounds
Secondary school: Chaminade-Madonna College Prep (Hollywood, Florida)
National ranking (On3 consensus): #14
Position ranking: number 4
Ranking of the states: number 4
Trader played a key role as Chaminade-Madonna won their fifth state championship in the last six seasons. He finished the season with 743 yards, seven touchdowns and an average of 15.8 yards per reception.
Last season, he was awarded the second-team MaxPreps High School Junior All-American honors.
Trader announced his top five teams on December 25: Tennessee, Florida, Miami, Florida State and Ohio State.
Ryan Wingo
Height: 6-foot-2
Weight: 198 pounds
Secondary school: University of St. Louis High School (Saint Louis, Missouri)
National ranking (On3 consensus): #30
Position ranking: #7
Ranking of the states: No. 2
Wingo is versatile, having played wide receiver, defensive back, return specialist, and punter this past season. He finished the 2022 season with 785 yards, 13 touchdowns, 44 tackles, two interceptions, two punt return touchdowns, and averaging 30.5 yards per punt return.
he deserved First-Team All-Conference and second-team wide receiver All-State honors. Wingo was also named to the second-team All-Conference as a cornerback, punter, and kick returner.
Wingo has unofficially visited Tennessee three times. He was the last to visit on January 14th for junior day. He participated in Tennessee’s win over Florida on September 24, 2022.
Tae Johnson
Height: 6-foot-3
Weight: 170 pounds
Secondary school: North Side (Fort Wayne, Indiana)
National ranking (On3 consensus): No. 122
Position ranking: #22
Ranking of the states: #3
Johnson was named a second team in the Great Lakes region last season. As a junior in 2022, he finished the season with 69 receptions, 1,081 yards and 16 touchdowns.
He unofficially visited Tennessee on January 28. Johnson participated in Tennessee’s win over Alabama on October 15, 2022.
Notre Dame is the early favorite in his recruitment. On3’s recruitment prediction engine gives Tennessee the third-best odds of landing Johnson.
Markeis Barrett Jr.
Height: 6 feet
Weight: 160 pounds
Secondary school: Webb School (Knoxville, Tennessee)
National ranking (On3 consensus): No. 364
Position ranking: No. 57
Ranking of the states: #7
Barrett has earned back-to-back All-State honors while playing both wide receiver and cornerback for Webb. He was also named a first-team defensive tackle All-5 Star Prep last season.
He has visited Tennessee unofficially three times in the past two years. The last visit was on October 15, 2022 when the Vols upset Alabama at Neyland Stadium.
Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Clemson and Kentucky have emerged as top contenders for Barrett.
Amari Jefferson
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 190 pounds
Secondary school: Baylor School (Chattanooga, Tennessee)
National ranking (On3 consensus): No. 442
Position ranking: No. 73
Ranking of the states: #10
Jefferson was honored with first-team All-State honors last season. He finished his junior season with 72 receptions, 1,370 yards and 17 touchdowns.
He took part in Tennessee’s 38–33 win over Florida on September 24, 2022. Jefferson announced plans to revisit Tennessee this spring.
Georgia and Tennessee have emerged as two of Jefferson’s strongest candidates for his recruitment.
Brandon Heyward
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 170 pounds
Secondary school: Oak Ridge (Oak Ridge, Tennessee)
National ranking (On3 consensus): No. 482
Position ranking: No. 78
Ranking of the states: #12
As a junior in 2022, Heyward finished the season with 29 receptions, 500 yards received and four touchdowns received.
Heyward was a three-year starter at Oak Ridge High School. In his first two high school seasons, he totaled 91 receptions, 1,298 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Heyward was visiting Tennessee when the Volunteers beat Kentucky 44-6 on October 29, 2022. The On3 recruitment prediction engine gives Tennessee the best percentage to win Heyward’s engagement.
Story originally appeared on Vols Wire