The Tennessee football program is currently gearing up for the upcoming 2025 college football season, in which they will look to build on last year's appearance in the playoff. In 2024, head coach Josh Heupel and company were escorted out of the first round by the eventual national champion Ohio State Buckeyes, leaving a bitter taste in Volunteers fans' mouths heading into the offseason.
However, on Thursday, the team got some exciting news regarding their future prospects on the offensive line with a switch in commitment from a highly touted recruit.
“BREAKING: Four-Star OT Kamari Blair has Flipped his Commitment from South Carolina to Tennessee, he tells me for @rivals,” reported Hayes Fawcett of On3 Sports and Rivals on X, formerly Twitter. “The 6’6 285 OT from Clarksville, TN had been committed to the Gamecocks since July.”
Blair described himself as “blessed” in making the announcement.
Blair is a member of the class of 2026 and is the number 22 ranked offensive tackle in the nation, per Rivals, along with the seventh best player in the state of Tennessee.
It's certainly a big addition for Heupel and company and a tough blow for the South Carolina Gamecocks.
Can Tennessee compete this year?
Another big story of the offseason for Tennessee was the bitter exit of quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who departed to become the new quarterback of the UCLA Bruins in what was a messy breakup between the two sides.
This year, it will be Joey Aguilar getting the nod as the Volunteers' starting quarterback for 2025.
The Tennessee football program was recently ranked at number 24 in the AP Poll and number 24 in the coaches poll, neither of which would be good enough to get them back into the college football playoff if that's where they stood at the end of the season.
However, Heupel and his staff have often been at their best when they've flown under the radar, and they'll look to raise some eyebrows this season.
Tennessee will kick off its 2025 season with a home game against Syracuse on August 30 at 12:00 PM ET.
