By: Jeremy Durham, TriStarDaily Sports Columnist
We’re halfway through the high school season, which means it’s time to check on the two things every Tennessee fan cares about: who’s winning on Friday nights, and how many of those kids will be wearing orange on Saturdays in a couple of years.
Short answers: Middle Tennessee is winning a lot, and the Vols are doing just fine.
THE RANKINGS
The Tennessee Sports Writers Association poll ranks the top teams in all nine TSSAA classes. Here’s the top five in each after Week 7:
Class 6A
1. Riverdale (6-1)
2. Maryville (6-1)
3. Oakland (6-1)
4. Southwind (6-1)
5. Antioch (7-0)
Class 5A
1. Page (6-1)
2. Powell (7-0)
3. Sevier County (5-1)
4. Knoxville Central (6-1)
5. Munford (5-1)
Class 4A
1. Alcoa (7-0)
2. Greeneville (7-0)
3. Pearl-Cohn (4-3)
4. Springfield (6-1)
5. Lexington (7-0)
Class 3A
1. Westview (7-0)
2. Meigs County (7-0)
3. Tyner Academy (6-1)
4. Forrest (7-0)
5. Covington (6-1)
Class 2A
1. Huntingdon (7-0)
2. Marion County (7-0)
3. East Robertson (7-0)
4. East Nashville (4-3)
5. Gordonsville (6-1)
Class 1A
1. South Pittsburg (5-1)
2. Coalfield (6-1)
3. McKenzie (5-2)
4. Humboldt (7-0)
5. Greenback (7-0)
Division II-AAA
1. Baylor (7-0)
2. Brentwood Academy (5-2)
3. Briarcrest (7-0)
4. Montgomery Bell Academy (6-1)
5. Knoxville Catholic (6-1)
Division II-AA
1. Battle Ground Academy (5-1)
2. Franklin Road Academy (5-2)
3. Grace Christian-Knoxville (6-0)
4. Christian Academy of Knoxville (7-0)
5. Lakeway Christian (5-1)
Division II-A
1. Nashville Christian (5-1)
2. University School of Jackson (6-1)
3. Friendship Christian (6-1)
4. Trinity Christian Academy (5-1)
5. Middle Tennessee Christian (6-1)
Four of the nine No. 1s are right here in Middle Tennessee: Riverdale, Page, BGA and Nashville Christian. Riverdale took 14 of 16 first-place votes in a 6A field where any of the top five can make a run. Page is the unanimous pick in 5A. BGA is the defending Division II-AA champ, and quarterback Bo Bryan just threw seven touchdown passes against Davidson Academy (which is a good month for some quarterbacks).
Then there’s Alcoa, which has won 11 straight state titles. I’m not betting against No. 12. (That streak started before most of their current seniors were in second grade.)
If you want one team for the whole state, it’s Baylor, and it isn’t close. MaxPreps has the Red Raiders No. 1 in Tennessee and No. 11 in the country, and On3’s statewide Top 25 has them No. 1 too, with Brentwood Academy right behind in both. Baylor just beat McCallie 49-7, and BA’s date with unbeaten Briarcrest this week will tell us a lot about whether anybody in the state can catch them.
THE BEST SENIORS
By the 247Sports Composite, the top 10 prospects in Tennessee’s class of 2027:
1. RB David Gabriel Georges, Baylor (No. 9 nationally) – Tennessee
2. WR Kesean Bowman, Brentwood Academy – Tennessee
3. LB Omarii Sanders, Franklin Road Academy – Vanderbilt
4. ATH Tae Walden Jr., Collierville – Oregon
5. WR Jamir Dean, Alcoa – Georgia
6. QB Keegan Croucher, Baylor – Ole Miss
7. LB Kenneth Simon II, Brentwood Academy – Tennessee
8. QB Andre Adams, Antioch – Colorado
9. OT Princeton Uwaifo, Siegel – Tennessee
10. TE Malik Howard, Oak Ridge – Tennessee
Half of that list is committed to Tennessee. Vanderbilt has one. The rest are headed to Oregon, Georgia, Ole Miss and Colorado, and we wish them well (mostly).
THE VOLS’ IN-STATE HAUL
Georges is the headliner. He’s from Quebec, he plays at Baylor, and Tennessee beat Ohio State for him this summer. He had 852 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns through six games, then scored three more against McCallie. Back in August, he put up more than 250 yards from scrimmage and some jaw-dropping balance against BA on ESPN2. His quarterback, Croucher, is committed to Ole Miss, so we’ll be seeing him again.
Bowman and Simon are both at Brentwood Academy, and both got away from somebody else first (Bowman from Oregon, Simon from Alabama). Bowman answered Georges on that ESPN2 night with an 80-yard touchdown catch in the fourth quarter.
Beyond the top 10, the Vols also have running back Asa Barnes (Westview), defensive back Jaden Butler (Haywood), linebacker JP Peace (Maryville), cornerback Slim Leavell (Goodpasture) and receiver Dayon Cooper (South Pittsburg), who flipped from Florida State this summer.
That’s 10 commits playing high school football in Tennessee, about half of a 19-man class. And three of them play for teams ranked No. 1: Georges at Baylor, Barnes at Westview and Cooper at South Pittsburg. Peace’s Maryville is No. 2 in 6A, and Howard’s Oak Ridge is in the 6A top 10 too.
Josh Heupel has caught some grief over the years for recruiting the whole country instead of his own backyard. That criticism is getting harder to make.
DON’T SLEEP ON THE JUNIORS
The best player in the state might not even be a senior.
Springfield cornerback Jermaine Cobbins is the No. 1 junior in Tennessee and a top-20 player in the country no matter who you ask (Rivals has him No. 14, the 247Sports Composite No. 19). This summer, at 16, he became the youngest football player ever to sign an NIL deal with Nike. Ohio State, Ole Miss, Florida and Tennessee are all after him, and he’s uncommitted. His Springfield team is 6-1 and ranked No. 4 in 4A. The Vols will need to make up ground to land Cobbins.
Right behind him is Brentwood Academy safety Braylen Bedford, a top-65 player nationally in both rankings. He committed to Ole Miss on Sept. 20 over Tennessee, Kentucky and Vanderbilt. That one stings a little. (Ole Miss is already getting Croucher. They can stop now.)
And if you’re wondering whether Baylor’s run ends when Georges graduates, 247Sports has three Red Raiders among the state’s top eight juniors: safety Antwaun Adams (the guy catching touchdowns from Croucher), tight end Braxton Rein and cornerback Xavier Bowman. BGA has two more in offensive tackle Koehn Dial and receiver Maximus Curry, and Tyner Academy’s Dion Edwards is a top-100 player nationally per 247.
WHAT ABOUT VANDY?
Sanders is the prize, and the Commodores have held onto him. He’s a 6-foot-3 linebacker who committed in November 2025 after a sophomore season with 73 tackles and two interceptions. Tennessee pushed hard to flip him this spring, official visit and all, and he’s still a Commodore. Credit Clark Lea for that.
His Franklin Road Academy team is No. 2 in Division II-AA, right behind the BGA team that beat FRA in last year’s state final. Circle that one.
Vanderbilt’s other in-state commits are offensive tackle Luke Burger of Silverdale Baptist in Chattanooga and kicker Ben Brewer of Fayette Academy.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Middle Tennessee has the most No. 1s, Chattanooga has the best team, and Knoxville is getting most of the best seniors. The juniors are the next fight, and it starts in Springfield. Go to a game this Friday. You might be watching a future Vol.
Jeremy Durham is Contributing Sports Columnist for TriStar Daily. He wrote politics and sports for the Daily Beacon when he attended the University of Tennessee.
