There was a big development in Tennessee Vols' pursuit of 2026 5-star recruit

The Tennessee Vols are the only SEC program that's currently in the mix to land 2026 five-star tight end Kendre Harrison.

Harrison, 6-foot-7/243 lbs from Reidsville, NC, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 1 tight end in the nation and the No. 7 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class.

The five-star tight end included Tennessee in his top six schools last month, along with North Carolina, Oregon, Penn State, Miami, and Florida State

“I love Knoxville. Tennessee has amazing people and it is in an amazing place," said Harrison to On3 last month of his interest in the Vols. "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.”

On Thursday, news broke that Harrison, who hopes to also play basketball at the next level, is transferring from Reidsville High School to Providence Day in Charlotte (Reidsville is two hours north of Charlotte).

This is an intriguing move for Harrison because 2025 five-star offensive lineman David Sanders Jr, who happens to be one of the Vols' biggest current recruiting targets, also attends Providence Day.

Now, that doesn't mean that Tennessee suddenly has the inside track to win this recruiting battle -- there are likely plenty of twists and turns in Harrison's recruitment on the way -- but it certainly helps the Vols consolidate their recruiting efforts. Even if Sanders commits to Tennessee later this month (he's set to announce his commitment on August 17), UT's coaches will continue to check in on him in Charlotte. And when they make the trip, they'll get a chance to spend some time with Harrison, too.

If Sanders commits to Tennessee, he'll almost certainly start trying to recruit Harrison to UT as well. And that would obviously be a huge positive for the Vols.

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