Comment from elite 5-star recruit after announcing commitment confirms where the Tennessee Vols stood in his recruitment

The Tennessee Vols received a mixed bag of news on the recruiting trail this past week.

Tennessee flipped 2026 four-star offensive lineman Kamari Blair from the South Carolina Gamecocks on Thursday.

Blair, 6-foot-5/281 lbs from Clarksville, TN, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 8 player in the state of Tennessee.

On Friday, the Vols lost the battle for 2026 five-star offensive lineman Darius Gray, the No. 1 interior offensive lineman in the nation.

Gray, 6-foot-3/285 lbs from Richmond, VA, committed to South Carolina.

Tennessee, LSU, Ohio State, and Clemson were also in the mix for Gray.

After announcing his commitment to the Gamecocks, Gray told On 3 that his decision ultimately came down to South Carolina and LSU.

“It came down to the final days this week,” said Gray to On3. “It was a very tough decision between LSU and South Carolina. LSU led this past year, and South Carolina led before that. It has been a battle between those two for a while....I went back and forth a lot—it was LSU one week, then South Carolina the next."

Tennessee continued to recruit Gray over the past couple of weeks -- Vols true freshman offensive lineman David Sanders Jr even made a pitch to the five-star recruit -- but based on his comments to On3, it sounds like UT never had a real chance in the final stages of this recruiting battle.

We'll see if South Carolina can hold on to Gray's commitment over the next several months as LSU will continue to loom as a threat in Gray's recruitment. Tennessee will likely continue to recruit the talented recruit, but it seems unlikely that they'll be able to flip a second offensive lineman from South Carolina.