Hey! Every school is gonna knock on your door when you are an elite player. But the decision is yours where you wanna ink it. Tennessee and Georgia got in a scuffle for the 2025 class four-star recruit with Tennessee winning the tug-of-war in the end. The win over Alabama is acting like honey for recruits that they all want a taste of. As far as an electric atmosphere is concerned, Kirby Smart might want to urge the fans to up the ante when they face the Vols later in week 12. Especially after hearing the star recruit’s words.

The 2025 four-star defensive back Lagonza Hayward, a Tennessee Vols commit since late July, created some panic in Knoxville after he visited Athens for a Georgia Bulldogs game. But he soon regretted seeing the environment there.

Which prompted Phillip Dukes in his Five-Star Flex Series on On3 Recruits YouTube channel to bring on Hayward. Dukes initially explains how the Vols have a scary pipeline of elite recruits from the nation to Rocky Top. The results we all are seeing on the field. “Halloween season, scary hours in Knoxville,” Dukes exclaims. Then comes the Toombs County’s explosive safety who got a ‘VOLts’ shock. After experiencing the high-voltage atmosphere of the Vols-Bama game, Nicknamed ‘Shady’ said, “It was so turnt and loud, like the Florida game was loud but like the Alabama game was LOUD!”

But Philip Dukes snuck up cheeky question asking him how was it in Athens when he visited Georgia. With the world’s most unenthusiastic reaction, he said, “It was cool like, it was cool being around.” And added to inflict more pain on Kirby Smart’s wounds by saying he didn’t regret it all by not committing to them. “The atmosphere wasn’t that compared to Neely Stadium,” he said, quickly sealing the deal by hinting his commitment to the Vols as 10. Congratulations Tennessee he’s all yours!

Man, but there was no reason to do the No. 2 ranked Georgia coach Kirby Smart like that. Hayward a 6-foot-1 and 200-pound from Lyons, GA is a two-way talent at wideout and defensive back. But he is a highly likely prospect as a DB. And there is no doubt that the Volvs’ recruiting is on point, and Coach Josh Heupel says they’re just beginning after their recent victory

Kirby Smart and others can learn a few from Tennessee

One thing all the elite prospects look for is whether we are committing to a successful program or not. The reason why players like Hayward and more want to be a part of Heupel’s side is beyond results. There are things Tennessee is doing that Smart and his crew aren’t, especially with NIL and their recruiting. Which is why this top recruit slipped from their hands. Oh! and yeah, he isn’t the only one who said no to Georgia recently. Jared Curtis, the top QB in the 2026 class, also de-committed from Georgia a week back!

These high-profile flips and decommitments from big programs are now creating an aura of invincibility around Knoxville. Of course, Josh Heupel is at the very heart of it. “You’re a Vol for Life, that’s not just words,” he said after chomping Bama 24-17. This says a lot about him and the Vols’ environment. Well, this was the Vols’ second dub in their past three matchups against the Crimson Tide. There is no doubt that Heupel is a dominant force in his fourth season as head coach.