2024 5-star athlete Jonathan Echols commits to Tennessee

Tennessee has been heating up on the recruiting trail in the 2023 cycle, but today they kicked things off with a bang on July 4th to open their class of 2024. Five-star athlete Jonathan Echols gave Tennessee an early commitment today, giving the Volunteers a super early building block for next year’s group.

Echols made the announcement via social media.

The 6-4, 230 pound athlete is another IMG Academy product. He’s the 30th ranked prospect in the 2024 class, per the 247Sports Composite rankings. Echols is originally out of Franklin, Georgia, but transferred to IMG ahead of his junior season.

Echols visited Tennessee last week and felt comfortable enough to commit today. He chose the Volunteers over offers from Alabama, Ohio State, Florida, Oklahoma and over 30 others.

As a sophomore, Echols played all over the place. He got work at quarterback, tight end, wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end, leaving the door open for a staff at the next level to find his best fit. Some like his upside defensively, others like his athletic ability at tight end or wide receiver. He’s got two seasons left at IMG to help figure that part out.

Echols spoke like a guy that was destined for the offensive side of the ball today, speaking to 247Sports. Considering offensive coordinator/tight ends coach Alex Golesh was his lead recruiter, tight end does seem like his ultimate destination.

Tennessee has highly ranked four-star Ethan Davis committed to the class of 2023, setting the Volunteers up nicely at the spot for years to come.