Tennessee football isn’t cooling off anytime soon on the recruiting trail. After landing one of the top classes in the country for 2026, the Vols are already making noise in the 2027 cycle - and they’ve got their sights set on one of the biggest names in the country: five-star offensive tackle Mark Matthews.
Matthews, out of powerhouse St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, is the kind of prospect that can anchor a program’s offensive line for years.
Standing at 6-foot-6 and tipping the scales at 300 pounds, he checks every physical box you want in a future left tackle. He’s not just big - he’s athletic, mobile, and shows flashes of elite reaction skills that are rare for someone his size.
According to recruiting updates, Matthews has a handful of top programs in the mix, and Tennessee is firmly in the conversation. Georgia, Miami, and Texas A&M are currently viewed as the frontrunners, but Matthews plans to visit each of his top schools - and the Vols are expected to be in that rotation. No official visit dates have been locked in yet, but Tennessee is clearly in pursuit.
Matthews is ranked as the No. 2 overall player in the 2027 class on the 247 Composite, the No. 1 offensive tackle, and the top-ranked player in Florida. That’s elite company - and the kind of talent that can reshape an offensive line room the moment he steps on campus.
Scouting reports rave about his upside. 247Sports’ director of scouting, Andrew Ivins, described Matthews as an “athletic offensive tackle with the size, twitch and mobility to eventually anchor the left side of the line at the game’s highest levels.”
He added that Matthews “aces the eye test” and is still growing - both physically and technically. There’s some rawness to his game, but the ceiling is sky-high.
He’s still learning the nuances of the position, but his natural ability to find leverage and adjust on the fly puts him in a different tier.
For Tennessee, landing Matthews would be a massive statement - and a continuation of the momentum they built with their 2026 class. That group was headlined by three five-star prospects: quarterback Faizon Brandon, wide receiver TK Keys, and offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda. The class finished ranked fourth nationally by 247Sports, a clear sign that Tennessee is not just recruiting well - they’re building something serious.
The 2027 class is already off to a solid start. The Vols have four early commitments: four-star offensive tackle Princeton Uwaifo, four-star defensive lineman Kadin Fife, three-star linebacker JP Peace, and three-star cornerback Kamauri Whitfield. It’s still early in the cycle, but Tennessee is laying the groundwork for another top-tier haul.
Reeling in a player like Matthews would elevate that class to another level. He’s the kind of foundational piece that championship-caliber offensive lines are built around. And if Tennessee can win this recruiting battle, it would be yet another sign that the Vols are not just back - they’re here to stay.