Nov 22, 2025; Gainesville, Florida, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Josh Heupel against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images

KJ Caldwell Updates His Tennessee Football Recruitment

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Wesley Powell | Last updated Mar 15, 2026 12:15 PM ET

Tennessee is looking to finish with yet another top 10 class in the 2027 recruiting cycle. To do that, they will have to pull out some major recruiting victories for some of the best players in the nation. One such player is four-star KJ Caldwell.

Caldwell is one of the top prospects in the 2027 class. The safety is ranked as the 76th best player in the country, the sixth best safety in the country, and the eighth best player from the state of Georgia by Rivals Industry rankings.

He is down to five schools: Tennessee, Georgia, NC State, Miami, and Vanderbilt.

Caldwell plays at Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia, which is the same high school that current Tennessee wide receiver Mike Matthews played at. He is one of Tennessee’s targets in the 2027 class, and his commitment date is coming up soon on April 3rd. He spoke with Vols on SI at The Sevens tournament (7-on-7 event) in Atlanta to discuss the Volunteers.

KJ Caldwell Talks Tennessee

Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Tennessee has been very high on Caldwell for a long time. They were one of the first schools to contact Caldwell last summer when coaches were allowed to officially contact 2027 recruits. Since he has come to really like what he sees from Tennessee.

“They are everything I want in a program. It is somewhere I feel like I could be for three to four years and somewhere I could compete at a very high level and even get to the next level.”

There are a few question marks surrounding Tennessee from various recruits, with all of the coaching changes on the defensive side of the ball. However, Caldwell feels like the Volunteers have answered a lot of those questions.

“They have been letting me know that I am still a priority and that I am still very high on their board.”

One of the biggest things for Caldwell is coaching and specifically how the coaches develop their players, which is why he likes seeing two Tennessee defensive backs, Colton Hood and Jermod McCoy, going through the NFL Draft process and both being likely selected.

“Those coaches putting them in that position to play at the next level is a great thing.”

All five schools in Caldwell’s top five are throwing everything that they can at him, but Rivals recently logged a prediction for Miami to land the talented defensive back. Still, Tennessee is going to give all they have to land Caldwell.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Volunteers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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