Tennessee Vols battling Ole Miss and Lane Kiffin for key 2025 recruit

The Tennessee Vols are locked into a recruiting battle that involves Lane Kiffin and the Ole Miss Rebels.

Tennessee and Ole Miss, along with Auburn, are battling for 2025 four-star running back Shekai Mills-Knight, the No. 13 overall player in the state of Tennessee.

Mills-Knight, 6-foot-1/217 lbs from Chattanooga, TN, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 31 running back in the 2025 recruiting class.

The talented running back went on several official visits in June, including trips to Michigan, Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and, most recently, Ole Miss.

Rivals.com national recruiting director Adam Gorney predicted this week that Ole Miss will land the four-star running back, though he acknowledged that Tennessee is not making the decision "easy" for Mills-Knight.

From Rivals.com : Tennessee is not making this one easy especially since the Canadian prospect who’s playing at Chattanooga (Tenn.) Baylor School just had an excellent visit to Knoxville but Ole Miss could be the program to watch. Auburn and others are involved, too, but the Rebels’ success running the ball in recent years and his dual-threat abilities could make playing for coach Lane Kiffin too much to pass up.

While it appears that Ole Miss and Auburn are the programs trending for Mills-Knight, it's worth pointing out that 247Sports reported earlier this month that Tennessee made up some ground with the coveted recruit during his recent official visit to Knoxville.

Mills-Knight is expected to announce his commitment before the start of his senior season at Baylor School, which means a late summer decision is likely.

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