Tennessee Vols fans need to pull for 2 rival programs over next couple of weeks

Tennessee Vols fans probably won't like to hear this, but they need to pull for a couple of rival programs to win over the next couple of weeks. 

One of the Vols' top remaining 2024 recruiting targets is five-star offensive lineman Jordan Seaton. 

Seaton, 6-foot-5/295 lbs from Washington DC, is rated by On3 as the No. 2 offensive tackle in the nation the No. 32 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class. 

One of the programs that's battling Tennessee for Seaton is Florida. 

The Gators hosted Seaton this past weekend for an official visit. And Seaton liked what he saw from Florida. More than that, Seaton made it clear to 247Sports that he believes in Gators head coach Billy Napier, despite the up-and-down start to his tenure in Gainesville. 

“He’s starting from scratch,” said Seaton to 247Sports after this visit to Florida. “He’s been at all the places, Bama, Clemson, etc. He knows what winning football looks like. It doesn’t just happen over night though.”

Napier is 10-9 through his first 19 games at Florida, including a 4-2 mark this season. It seems far too early to be talking about Napier being on the hot seat, but college football has turned into a sport where coaches often only get two or three years to turn a program around before they're at risk of being fired. If Florida finishes the 2023 season with a losing record for a second straight season under Napier, it wouldn't be a surprise if the hot seat talk surrounding the former Louisiana head coach heats up a bit. 

That's a decision that Florida will have to make if/when the time comes. 

As for Tennessee's recruitment of Seaton, if Florida starts trending in the wrong direction, it could knock the Gators out of the battle for the talented offensive lineman. And that would obviously be great news for the Vols. 

Florida plays South Carolina this weekend before taking on Georgia on October 28. 

And Tennessee fans need to hope the Gators lose both of those games. The last thing the Vols need this season is a loss to Florida on the field and a big recruiting loss of the field, too. 

A couple of Florida losses doesn't mean that Seaton is going to land at Tennessee -- other programs are very much still in the mix -- but it would certainly make it more likely that the five-star recruit suits up for the Vols in 2024 and beyond.