Tennessee Vols are the only SEC program in the mix for elite 2026 5-star recruit

One of the top players in the 2026 recruiting class revealed his top six schools on Monday and the Tennessee Vols were the only SEC program included.

2026 five-star tight end Kendre Harrison included North Carolina, Tennessee, Oregon, Penn State, Miami, and Florida State in his top six on Monday evening.

Harrison, 6-foot-7/243 lbs from Reidsville, NC, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 tight end in the nation and the No. 2 player in the state of North Carolina. He's also rated as the No. 6 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

The highly coveted recruit told On3 that his love for Knoxville and his relationship with Vols tight ends coach Alec Abeln are the main reasons that Tennessee is in his top six schools.

“I love Knoxville. Tennessee has amazing people and it is in an amazing place," said Harrison . "Me and coach Alec Abeln have a great relationship. I talk to coach Josh Heupel a lot too. They have shown they can use me in the offense too and make me versatile all over the field.”

Harrison, who hopes to play basketball as well as football at the collegiate level, also noted to Rivals.com that he's impressed with the quarterbacks that the Vols have on the roster (and on the way to Knoxville).

"Coach (Josh) Heupel is changing the program around," explained Harrison . "They've got a great couple of quarterbacks there. George MacIntyre is gonna be good, Nico (Iamaleava) is there now, and I'm looking for a school with great quarterbacks when I'm there, great guys that are gonna put me in a good position that I need to be in and good guys to be around."

Harrison told On3 that he doesn't plan to announce his commitment until sometime in 2025. The North Carolina native said he plans to take visits to his finalists this fall to get a better feel for each program.

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