Tennessee isn’t wasting any time when it comes to building its 2027 recruiting class. Fresh off signing a top-10 haul for 2026, Josh Heupel and his staff are already deep into the next cycle-and they’ve got their eyes on some serious talent.
One name that’s been high on the Vols’ board for a while? Four-star edge rusher Antwoine Higgins.
And now, Tennessee has made his final six.
That’s no small feat.
Higgins, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound force out of Cincinnati, is widely considered the top EDGE prospect in Ohio for the 2027 class. He’s trimmed his list to Tennessee, Alabama, Indiana, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Syracuse. That’s a competitive group, and it speaks volumes about the kind of recruitment this is shaping up to be.
For Tennessee, this isn’t just another name on the board. Higgins has been a priority target-plan A from the jump.
He visited Knoxville twice this fall, taking in the electric atmospheres during the Vols’ matchups against Georgia and Oklahoma. Those visits weren’t just about the pageantry of SEC football; they were about fit, vision, and the chance to be a cornerstone in a new-look defense under coordinator Jim Knowles.
And let’s talk about that fit, because it’s easy to see why the Vols are all in.
Higgins isn’t just your prototypical pass rusher-he’s a complete defensive weapon. His junior season stat line tells the story: 67 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, three sacks, four passes defended, and two interceptions.
That’s not just production-it’s versatility. He can rush the edge with power and speed, crash down to blow up the run, and even drop into coverage to take away throwing lanes.
That kind of flexibility is exactly what Knowles covets in his defensive scheme.
It’s not hard to imagine Higgins thriving in orange and white. The Under Armour All-American brings a physical edge and a high football IQ, and his ability to play multiple roles would give Tennessee a unique chess piece on defense. He’s the kind of player who can change the dynamic of a game-and a recruiting class.
The Vols already have four commitments in the 2027 cycle, including two on the defensive side. Adding Higgins would not only raise the ceiling of that group, it would also give Tennessee the luxury of being more selective with how they round out the rest of the class. In a recruiting landscape that never sleeps, stacking early wins like this can set the tone for the entire cycle.
There’s no official timeline yet for Higgins’ decision, but the feeling is that it may not be too far off. And when a player of this caliber starts narrowing things down, every visit, every conversation, and every pitch matters that much more.
For Tennessee, the next step is getting Higgins back on campus-this time for a closer look at how Knowles plans to use him. If that meeting goes as well as the visits this fall, the Vols could be in prime position to land one of the most dynamic defenders in the 2027 class.
Stay tuned. This recruitment could end up being a major headline come next December.