Recruiting analyst says Tennessee Vols 4-star commit's transformation has been 'awfully impressive'

One of the Tennessee Vols' most underrated 2026 football commits is five-star offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda. 

It feels odd to call a five-star recruit underrated, but it feels like Osenda, 6-foot-7/330 lbs from Chattanooga, TN, is mostly flying under the radar. 

Osenda, who is rated by 247Sports as the No. 19 overall player in the 2026 recruiting class, has been committed to Tennessee since January. 

When Osenda committed to Tennessee, he was rated as the No. 380 overall player in the nation, so he's shot up recruiting rankings in recent months. 

That partially due to his physical transformation, which Rivals.com's Adam Friedman called "awfully impressive" this week. 

Friedman included Osenda on Rivals.com's "All Lobby Team" at the Rivals Five-Star event in Indianapolis. 

From Rivals.com: The transformation we've seen from Osenda since the Navy All-American Bowl earlier this year has been awfully impressive. The Tennessee commit was the tallest player at registration (6-foot-7) and had a 7-foot wingspan, the longest of the day. Osenda has dropped an incredible amount of weight since January and it has helped him become much quicker. That helped him dominate at the Rivals Camp Series in Atlanta and we'll see how it translates to the field on Tuesday.

Osenda committed to Tennessee in large part because he believes he can win a national championship on Rocky Top. 

“Tennessee was in the playoffs this season and they are only getting better," said Osenda to On3 in January. "Coach (Josh) Heupel and the staff have the team playing hard and playing together. I see a great opportunity to learn from the best, play with great players and to win a national championship. Tennessee is a national championship program and it has been a great run under Coach Heupel."

Osenda should have an opportunity to play early at Tennessee once he arrives in Knoxville in 2026.