Tennessee makes the ‘final 4’ for Isaiah Horton

Another key in-state prospect has trimmed his list. This time it’s Isaiah Horton, a four-star receiver out of Murfreesboro, who trimmed his list to what he calls a final four. Horton included his home state Volunteers, along with Alabama, Florida and Miami.

Horton is the 285th ranked prospect in the country, per 247Sports. The 6-3, 185 pound wide receiver prospect come from Oakland High School. He’s the 11th ranked prospect in the state of Tennessee for the 2022 cycle.

Tennessee was among the first teams to offer Horton back in 2018. Josh Heupel is currently playing catch-up in the recruiting world, working to build relationships in-state and reclaim the state of Tennessee for his program. In-state recruiting has turned into an issue over the last several cycles, likely due to the constant turnover and failures of the program.

Heupel is hoping to turn that around, and his offensive staff is already making the public pitch to recruits. New receivers coach Kodi Burns spoke directly to recruits during his introductory press conference, citing the numbers that receivers are able to put up in Heupel’s system.

“You have to have obviously have a balance between run and pass, but I think the numbers speak for themselves of what Coach Heupel has done not only in the SEC, but also outside of it,” Burns said. “Obviously, these past few years at UCF the numbers speak for itself. So, if I’m a wideout, I’m excited about the future here at Tennessee, and really in what we’re going to do offensively throwing the ball. It’s more so the philosophy of getting the ball on the perimeter to your playmakers and letting those guys play.”

That seems like a direct pitch to a guy like Horton, who Tennessee is trying to climb back in the mix for. They’ve at least landed in the top four here, and have a fighting chance going forward.