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Ohio State spent months as the frontrunner for five-star running back David Gabriel Georges. In the space of 24 hours, four recruiting insiders flipped their predictions to Tennessee ahead of his Wednesday commitment.
On3 insider Steve Wiltfong had backed Ohio State since April. He flipped to Tennessee on Tuesday alongside Pete Nakos, Sam Spiegelman and Chad Simmons. All four logged their Tennessee predictions at 70 percent confidence, per Rocky Top Insider. Wiltfong explained why.
“One of the biggest reasons why Tennessee looks to be trending, beyond the relationships and NIL, is the chance to be a day-one starter,” Wiltfong wrote, per On3.
The starting opportunity is where Ohio State fell short. Bo Jackson rushed for 1,090 yards as a true freshman last season and will be a junior in 2027 when Georges would arrive as a freshman.
Georges announces his commitment on Wednesday, July 22 at 5:30 PM ET live on CBS Sports and 247Sports. He’s ranked the No. 2 running back and No. 10 overall prospect in the 2027 class on the 247Sports composite.
Last season, Georges put up 1,756 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns. His team went 12-0. MaxPreps gave him the Tennessee High School Football Player of the Year for it.
Tennessee is not playing small ball in this recruitment either. The reported offer is a three-year, $6 million NIL package with extra perks included. Ohio State worked to close the gap but couldn’t fully match it.
“If Gabriel Georges does choose the Vols as expected, he’ll be in line to start as a true freshman. He will also be able to retain his jersey number, No. 0,” Wiltfong wrote, per On3.
At Ohio State, the No. 0 jersey cannot be handed out to an incoming freshman because of a sacred program custom known as the “Block O” tradition.
Tennessee has no such roadblock. Georges wearing No. 0 from day one is a real possibility in Knoxville, where that number is available. At Ohio State, it isn’t.
Tennessee has produced three consecutive 1,000-yard rushers under head coach Josh Heupel. Georges would step into a program that knows how to develop and feature running backs at a high level.
Ohio State’s Bo Jackson problem is the reason this recruitment shifted
Bo Jackson is already at Ohio State. Georges and Jackson would share the backfield for two full seasons in Columbus. Ohio State could not promise Georges the carries the way Tennessee could.
At a program where the quarterback and running back both get equal volume, that kind of promise matters to a recruit choosing where to spend his college career.
Tennessee also missed out on five-star running back Savion Hiter last offseason. Hiter picked Michigan, per Saturday Blitz. Georges is Heupel’s best shot at landing the kind of elite back that shifts a program’s ceiling in the post-Saban SEC.
If the momentum holds and Georges picks Tennessee on Wednesday, it lands among the biggest recruiting wins the Vols have had in recent memory.
Do you think David Gabriel Georges will follow through and pick Tennessee over Ohio State? Let us know in the comments.
