As the Tennessee high school football season nears, the USA Today Sports Network has put together its preseason ranking of the state's top high school football players entering the 2024 TSSAA season.
We have released the state's top players in the 2025 class . Now it's time to shift to the junior class. The players included in these rankings are decided on what we call an athlete's playability and recruitabilty, meaning his accomplishments on the field and his ability to draw college recruiting interest.
The players have been selected by high school sports writers from The Tennessean, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), Knoxville News Sentinel, The Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro) and The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville) and includes input from high school football coaches from around the state.
Our player rankings will start with the top 50 juniors. Here are the USA Today Sports Network's top Tennessee high school football juniors, ranked 1-25, in the state.
Nos. 26-50 will be released Aug. 6.
1. Jared Curtis, Nashville Christian. 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, QB
The dual-threat quarterback is the nation’s No. 1 quarterback, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 1 prospect in Tennessee and the nation’s No. 8 player overall for the 2025 class. The Georgia commit completed 180 of 321 passes (56%) for 2,522 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 543 yards and 13 TDs.
2. Tyreek King, Knoxville Catholic, 6-0, 170, WR
King is the No. 3 player in the state , and ranked as the No. 25 wideout in the country. He had 63 catches for 1,125 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns. He has offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss, and Auburn among others. He was named to the Division II-AAA East All-Region team.
3. Joel Wyatt, Webb School-Bell Buckle, 6-4, 185, WR
Wyatt's quiet rise to prominence last year has become a roar entering his junior season . The Webb School-Bell Buckle four-star standout picked up an offer from Georgia on July 30 and also holds offers from Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Ole Miss and Michigan State among others. He ranks as the No. 7 prospect in the state.
4. Caden Harris, Haywood, 6-0, 160, DB
Harris is a four-star cornerback who is ranked No. 5 prospect in Tennessee and the 13th-ranked corner in the nation. He holds offers from Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and TCU among others. As for offense, he didn’t have the eye-boggling stats others have, but he still had 520 yards and six TDs in a run-heavy Tomcat offense.
5. Zach Groves, East Robertson, 6-4, 230, DL
Groves helped East Robertson reach its first TSSAA Class 2A state championship game last season after recording 72 tackles with 28 for loss, nine forced fumbles, and eight sacks. His older brothers are college bound, including Elijah (NC State freshman) and Isaiah (Georgia Tech commit). Zach, a four-star edge rusher, is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in Tennessee and holds offers from Tennessee, Purdue, Vanderbilt, NC State, UAB, Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
6. Shavar Young, Knoxville Webb, 5-11, 175, WR
Young returns to Knoxville Webb after a season at Brentwood Academy where he led the Eagles with 84 receptions for 1,130 yards and nine touchdowns. He's the No. 7 player in the state and has offers from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Michigan and Penn State, among others.
7. Chastin Smith, McCallie, 6-1, 160, DB
Smith had 39 tackles, but gave up only eight catches for the entire 2023 season when he played at Bearden last year . The four-star corner transferred to McCallie and is ranked No. 4 in Tennessee. He holds offers from schools like Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
8. Justin Hopkins, Ensworth, 6-0, 165, DB
Hopkins already has some impressive offers , including Tennessee, Iowa, Purdue, Ole Miss, Auburn and Vanderbilt among others. Hopkins will play both ways. He had 10.5 tackles, three for a loss in 2023.
9. Gabriel Osenda, Baylor, 6-8, 310, OL
Osenda is originally from Alberta, Canada who arrives in Chattanooga to anchor Baylor's front five. He played at now defunct Clearwater Academy in Florida in 2023. He picked up offers from Washington, Mississippi State, Louisville, Ole Miss, Missouri, Central Florida and South Carolina.
10. Kelvin Perkins, Southwind, 6-0, 190, QB
Perkins was impressive in his second season at Southwind in 2023. He had 2,821 yards passing, 46 touchdowns and only two interceptions while being named Class 5A Mr. Football . He also ran for 585 yards and 11 TDs. He holds an offer from Temple.
11. Keeyshawn Tabuteau, McCallie, 6-0, 175, Athlete
Tabuteau had 20 receptions for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 42 times for 687 yards and 10 TDs. The Montreal, Canada native holds offers from Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt among others.
12. Owen Cabell, CPA, 6-3, 195, WR
Cabell holds offers from Georgia, Tennessee , Louisville and Vanderbilt. He caught 24 passes for 442 yards and six touchdowns at wide receiver while helping the Lions capture the Division II-AA state championship in 2023.
13. Carson Sneed, DCA, 6-5, 235, TE
The four-star tight end is ranked as the No. 5 prospect in the state and has offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Miami and Michigan among others. He had 15 receptions for 297 yards but was deadly in the red zone with 10 touchdowns for the Wildcats.
14. Brody Smith, Maryville, 6-5, 240, OL
Smith is the No. 11 player in the state and No. 30 offensive lineman in the nation. He made the All-Region 2-6A team at Bearden last year and has offers from Tennessee, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Colorado.
15. Craig Tutt, Oakland, 6-0, 180, Safety
A three-star defensive back, Tutt holds offers from Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Louisville among others. He's the 10th-ranked prospect in the state and had 54 tackles, four sacks, four interceptions and six pass break-ups in 2023.
16. Tre’von McGory, Germantown, 6-0, 175, WR
McGory had 873 yards and 10 touchdowns while being named to The Commercial Appeal's All-Metro team last year. He has offers from Arkansas, Tennessee, Purdue, Ole Miss and Missouri among others.
17. Camden Goforth, McMinn County, 6-4, 295, OL
Goforth was dominant up front, leading McMinn County to nearly 3,000 yards rushing and a 6-5 record. He's received recruiting interest from Chattanooga and Eastern Kentucky.
18. Kolby Barrett, Baylor, 6-2, 190, DB
Barrett's speed makes him a difficult matchup for opposing wide receivers. The Red Raiders can use him on the outside or in the nickel position. He holds offers from Memphis, Purdue and Wake Forest.
19. Jacob Rathbone, Page, 6-3, 285, OL
Rathbone was named to The Tennessean's Large Class All-Midstate first team in 2023 as well as TSWA All State. He had 28 pancake blocks and was named Region 6-5A Lineman of the Year. He has offers from Memphis, WKU, Liberty, Ball State and Miami (Ohio).
20. Zyntreacs Otey, BGA, 5-11, 165, DB
Otey transferred from Riverdale during the offseason. He had 66 tackles, four pass breakups, two tackles for loss, and two interceptions last season for the Warriors and has offers from schools like Purdue, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisville.
21. Jayden McClure, Mt. Pleasant, 6-2, 205, LB
McClure had 33 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He has offers from Colorado, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
22. Moussa Seck, McCallie, 6-5, 320, OL
A massive tackle for McCallie, Seck will anchor the defending Division II-AAA champs' front line. He has offers from Syracuse and Boston College.
23. Jayzon Thompson, Bearden, 5-10, 170, RB
Thompson had 257 carries for 1,450 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was the Region 2-6A Sophomore of the Year and has offers from Virginia Tech, Auburn, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Purdue and West Virginia, among others.
24. Celley Davis, Houston, 6-0, 190, RB
Davis had 88 carries for 509 yards and six touchdowns for the Mustangs. He has offers from Arkansas State, Indiana and TCU.
25. Joshua Sims, Pearl-Cohn, 6-0, 175, CB
Academically, Sims is a senior but reclassified as a athletic junior. He had 70 tackles, two for a loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles while helping lead Pearl-Cohn to a Class 4A state title last year. He has offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Purdue and Colorado.
Reach sports writer George Robinson at georgerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on the X platform (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Ranking best Tennessee high school football juniors for 2024 TSSAA season
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