Oak Ridge (Tenn.) High Top247 tight end Malik Howard held over 40 scholarship offers from all over the country, but today, he decided that there is no better time than to announce his commitment to play ball for the Tennessee Volunteers. Head coach Josh Heupel and his staff were able to beat Notre Dame, Miami, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt for one of the top players in the class of 2027.
247Sports ranks the 6-4, 231-pounder as a Top 10 tight end. Howard is listed as the No. 183 overall player in America, No. 8 at his position, and No. 8 in his home state.
Tennessee did everything possible to make sure Howard stayed home. For a while, there was a feeling that the Volunteers held an edge over fellow in-state program Vanderbilt, but the Tennessee was always going to be tough to beat. So, how did the Vols make it happen?
Howard spoke with 247Sports about his decision.
