2026 Recruiting Road Map: Running Backs
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Tennessee coaches are off the road and prepping for spring practice to begin in March. Ahead of what will be some of the busiest months on the recruiting trail, Volquest breaks down position-by-position names to know heading into the spring and summer for the Vols, after a busy month on the road in January for the Tennessee coaching staff.
The first position group we are taking a look at is the running backs, as De’Rail Sims has positioned the Vols firmly in the mix for a number of high-caliber targets at the position.
The most recent news on the front at this position comes from the top running back in the cycle, Savion Hiter.
The top-20 prospect from Louisa County recently announced his top four schools, trimming Penn State off the list, and has set his official visit date with Tennessee.
Hiter will visit the Vols the weekend of June 20th, after he takes official visits to Ohio State (May 30), Georgia (June 6), and Michigan (June 13).
The Wolverines appear to be the early team to beat heading into the busiest months on the recruiting trail, but Tennessee, and the others, are working to make this a difficult decision for Hiter, and the Vols will look to capitalize on having the last official visit for the elite back.
Elsewhere, another top target for the Vols, Amari Latimer, had eyed making an early decision, but the standout from the Peach State has slowed on that thought, according to the latest from On3’s Chad Simmons.
Tennessee has kept close tabs on Latimer, and the Vols are expecting to host him in the spring, and again in the summer for an official visit. Michigan and Wisconsin are both heavily involved in his recruitment, and several new schools that came in over the winter are working to get him on campus in the coming months as well.
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Another standout back from the Peach State is Jonaz Walton. Tennessee got him to campus in January, and the Vols are firmly entrenched in his recruitment moving forward it seems.
Walton has trimmed his list of schools to ten, and he will most likely be back to campus in the spring, as he continues to work to line up an official visit date with Tennessee.
Elsewhere in the Peach State, Tennessee is one of several teams trying with standout Colquitt County (Ga.) running back Jae Lamar. The home-state Bulldogs have positioned themselves nicely in this recruitment, and it is hard to see Lamar turning away from Athens, but he has not ruled out the possibility of giving Tennessee a deeper look down the stretch, including potentially taking an official visit to Knoxville in the summer.
Lastly, one other name to know at the position is former Oklahoma commitment Jonathan Hatton Jr. He recently backed off of a fourteen-month pledge to the Sooners and is taking a deeper look at several programs.
Tennessee will have to get him to campus to believe there is a real shot here, but De’Rail Sims checked in on him during the contact period, and the Vols remain a talking point in his recruitment.