Tennessee Vols are reportedly an early standout for 4-star recruit who is the nephew of the late Kobe Bryant

The Tennessee Vols are reportedly one of the programs that's an early standout for 2026 four-star athlete Jett Washington, the nephew of the late Kobe Bryant.

Washington, 6-foot-5/200 lbs from Las Vegas, NV, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 6 athlete in the nation and the No. 1 player in the state of Nevada. He's also rated as the No. 16 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

"Alabama, Oregon, Notre Dame, Tennessee, Texas, Michigan and Washington are the early standouts for the 2026 four-star athlete from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman who is also the late Kobe Bryant’s cousin," noted Rivals.com's Adam Gorney on Monday .

Gorney also noted that USC was Washington's "dream school" growing up, but there hasn't been a lot of communication with the Trojans at this point.

Washington, who attends the same high school that former Vols wide receiver Cedric Tillman attended, is the son of Kobe's sister, Sharia.

Washington will receive plenty of headlines because of his legendary uncle, but he's an elite recruit in his own right. He's so talented as a recruit that 247Sports national recruiting analyst Greg Biggins believes he could end up at wide receiver, safety, linebacker, or possibly edge rusher.

Scouting report via 247Sports : Washington is a high major prospect in football and basketball. He’s the nephew of NBA legend Kobe Bryant (mom is Bryant’s sister) and helped lead the Gaels to a state title on the hardwood. He brings a lot of versatility to the grid-iron as well. The big question with Washington is what position will he play in college. He’s a legit 6-5, 200 pounds and could end up at receiver, safety, linebacker or even grow in to an edge rusher. He played primarily safety as a sophomore and can play in the box, loves to hit and has a nice physical edge in his game. We’ve seen him work out at receiver and he looks natural running routes, has strong hands and can make plays down the field. With his frame and growth potential, it’s not hard to envision him eventually moving to linebacker but regardless where he lines up, he’s a tremendous prospect and has a very high ceiling.

It's still early in Washington's recruitment, so it remains to be seen just how serious of a player Tennessee will be for the four-star recruit.

For now, however, we at least know that Tennessee is in the mix, though they'll have to get Washington on campus this fall/next spring to have a legit chance at landing the already-coveted athlete.

Related: Former Vols DB Brandon Turnage explains why he transferred to Ole Miss and makes strong statement about his time at Tennessee