The Tennessee Volunteers have received disappointing news on the recruiting front.
Five-star offensive tackle and interior lineman Douglas Utu from Bishop Gorman High School has officially changed his commitment from Tennessee to the Oregon Ducks. This shift follows a surprising prediction by Steve Wiltfong that caught Tennessee fans off guard on X.
Earlier in the off-season, Tennessee had successfully flipped tight end commit Da’Saahn Brame from Kansas, but Oregon responded by securing Utu’s commitment.
With Utu’s decision to join Oregon, Tennessee is now left with just one five-star recruit in the class: David Sanders Jr., who has recently expressed his contentment with the Volunteers. Utu had maintained a relatively low profile in his recruitment process until now.
The 6-foot-4, 315-pound Utu is currently teammates with Oregon commit Alai Kalaniuvalu, which could have influenced his choice. Many believe this connection played a significant role in his decision.
Both Wiltfong and Chad Simmons had given Oregon a 60% chance of flipping Utu, and ON3’s RPM ranked Tennessee as a distant fourth in his recruitment on Friday, with Oregon leading at 90.2%, followed by Nebraska at 2.2% and Michigan at 1.8%. Tennessee’s chances were estimated at just 1.5%.
Despite this setback, Tennessee has generally managed to avoid flips and de-commitments, with Utu being only the second such occurrence in the class, following Shamar Arnoux’s early off-season switch.
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