4-star RB Peyton Lewis commits to Tennessee Volunteers

Salem (Va.) four-star running back Peyton Lewis has committed to the Tennessee Volunteers. He picked Tennessee over Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Penn State and South Carolina.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pounder is the No. 171 overall prospect and No. 11 running back in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 1 player in Virginia.

Tennessee extended an offer to Lewis on Feb. 6. He was on campus for the first time just under a month later on March 4 and returned a month later on April 15.

He is set to return to Knoxville on June 23 for an official visit.

Lewis currently has an On3 NIL Valuation of $78K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Recruiting momentum continues to grow for Tennessee

Heupel’s second recruiting class with Tennessee showed promising signs for the future. The Volunteers finished the 2023 recruiting cycle with the No. 13 class in the country highlighted by one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Nico Iamaleava.

That class on top of what the Volunteers accomplished on the field in 2022 has helped Josh Heupel and his coaching staff when it comes to building their 2024 class.

Prior to the start of the new year, the Volunteers had three commitments with four-star tight end Jonathan Echols, four-star cornerback Kaleb Beasley and three-star defensive lineman Carson Gentle.

Four-star safety Marcus Goree became the Volunteers first commitment in 2023 and a week after his commitment they landed a pledge from four-star wide receiver JJ Harrell.

Tennessee was able to build upon that momentum during the spring landing six new commitments since four-star quarterback Jake Merklinger committed to the Volunteers on March 30. Since then, the Vols have added Lewis, four-star EDGE Kellen Lindstrom, offensive tackles Gage Ginther and Jesse Perry, and defensive back Edrees Farooq.