Tennessee Vols battling Georgia Bulldogs for 2025 4-star recruit who was high school teammates with current UT QB

The Tennessee Vols are going head-to-head with the Georgia Bulldogs for a 2025 four-star wide receiver who was high school teammates with a current UT quarterback. 

2025 four-star wide receiver Thomas Blackshear has the Vols and the Bulldogs as his top two schools. The Florida Gators are also working to become a bigger factor in the battle for the talented wide receiver. 

Blackshear, 6-foot-1/197 lbs from Savannah, GA, is rated in 247Sports' composite rankings as the No. 47 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 39 player in the state of Georgia. 

From Rivals.com: It has long seemed like a two-horse race for the big and physical wideout, who had a great showing in Atlanta, but a third program is getting into the mix. Blackshear had a top three of Georgia, Tennessee and Florida State earlier this year but the only ACC program in the mix has since faded. Instead, another SEC East program has vaulted up his list in the Florida Gators.

Blackshear admits Georgia and Tennessee are the top two, but Florida's climb could become an interesting late wrinkle into a recruitment expected to end in late August or September. Official visits to the in-state Bulldogs and Volunteers have already been set.

Blackshear was high school teammates at Calvary Day last season with quarterback Jake Merklinger, a former four-star recruit who signed with the Vols during the 2024 recruiting cycle. 

The recruiting services don't have Blackshear rated as a top recruit, but the heavy interest from Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee suggests that he's a much better player than his rating indicates. 

Blackshear is expected to make a decision in August or September.