Tennessee Vols officially lose key commit to former SEC assistant coach

The Tennessee Vols officially lost a key commit on Thursday morning.

According to On3, 2025 four-star offensive lineman Douglas Utu flipped his commitment from Tennessee to the Oregon Ducks.

Utu had been committed to Tennessee since late June.

“Coach Lanning is building an elite program at Oregon,” said Utu to On3 . “He’s creating a culture of toughness, discipline, and accountability, and you can feel that everyone is bought in. It’s exciting to be joining a program on the rise, and l know I’m stepping into a winning environment where excellence is expected every day.”

Flipping Utu is a huge win for Oregon and head coach Dan Lanning (Lanning was Georgia's defensive coordinator for three seasons before taking over at Oregon). The talented offensive lineman looks like a future NFL player.

Utu, 6-foot-4/317 lbs from Las Vegas, NV, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 2 interior offensive lineman in the nation and the No. 69 overall player in the 2025 recruiting class.

With Utu no longer in the commit column for Tennessee, the Vols will likely look for an impact offensive lineman to add to their 2025 recruiting class.

Related: Urban Meyer reveals what an NFL scout said about Tennessee and it should get Vols fans fired up