While the Tennessee high school football As the season approaches, USA Today Sports Network has put together its preseason rankings of the state’s best high school football players entering the 2024 TSSAA season.
We’ve revealed the state’s top players in the class of 2025. Now it’s time to move on to the junior class. The players included in these rankings are decided based on what we call an athlete’s playability and recruiting ability, meaning their on-field accomplishments and their ability to attract college recruiting interest.
The players were selected by high school sports writers from The Tennessean, The Commercial Appeal (Memphis), Knoxville News Sentinel, The Daily News Journal (Murfreesboro) and The Leaf-Chronicle (Clarksville) and include input from high school football coaches across the State.
Our player rankings will start with the top 50 juniors. Here are the USA Today Sports Network’s top high school football juniors, ranked 1-25, in the state.
Issues 26 to 50 will be released on August 6th.
1. Jared Curtis, Nashville Christian. 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, QB
The dual-threat quarterback is the No. 1 quarterback in the country, according to the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 1 prospect in Tennessee and the No. 8 overall player in the country in the class of 2025. The Georgia commit completed 180 of 321 passes (56%) for 2,522 yards, 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He also rushed for 543 yards and 13 TDs.
2. Tyreek King, Knoxville Catholic, 6-0, 170, WR
King is the third player in the state, and ranked as the 25th largest in the country. He had 63 receptions for 1,125 yards and 12 touchdowns. He has offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Ole Miss and Auburn, among others. He was named to the Division II-AAA East All-Region Team.
3. Joel Wyatt, Webb School-Bell Buckle, 6-4, 185, WR
Wyatt’s Quiet Rise to Prominence Over the Past Year become a roar entering his junior season. The Webb School-Bell Buckle four-star standout received an offer from Georgia on July 30 and also holds offers from Tennessee, LSU, Auburn, Vanderbilt, Penn State, Ole Miss and Michigan State, among others. He is ranked as the seventh candidate in the state.
4. Caden Harris, Haywood, 6-0, 160, DB
Harris is a four-star cornerback who is ranked 5th in Tennessee and 13th in the country. He holds offers from Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, LSU, Tennessee and TCU, among others. As for the offense, he didn’t have the impressive stats that others have, but he still had 520 yards and six TDs in a Tomcat-heavy offense.
5. Zach Groves, East Robertson, 6-4, 230, DL
Groves helped East Robertson reach its first TSSAA Class 2A state championship game last season after recording 72 tackles, with 28 for loss, nine forced fumbles and eight sacks. His older brothers are headed to college, including Elijah (freshman at NC State) and Isaiah (committed to Georgia Tech). Zach, a four-star edge rusher, is ranked as the No. 2 prospect in Tennessee and holds offers from Tennessee, Purdue, Vanderbilt, NC State, UAB, Wisconsin, Texas A&M and Kentucky.
6. Shavar Young, Knoxville Webb, 5-11, 175, WR
Young returns to Knoxville Webb after one season at Brentwood Academy, where he led the Eagles with 84 receptions for 1,130 yards and nine touchdowns. He is the No. 7 player in the state and has offers from Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Arkansas, Texas A&M, Michigan and Penn State, among others.
7. Chastin Smith, McCallie, 6-1, 160, DB
Smith had 39 tackles but gave up just eight receptions in the entire 2023 season when he played at Bearden last year. The four-star corner transferred to McCallie and is ranked No. 4 in Tennessee. He has offers from schools like Alabama, Tennessee, Clemson, Wisconsin and Arkansas.
8. Justin Hopkins, Ensworth, 6-0, 165, database
Hopkins already has some impressive offers, including Tennessee, Iowa, Purdue, Ole Miss, Auburn and Vanderbilt, among others. Hopkins will play both ways. He had 10.5 tackles, three of which were missed in 2023.
9. Gabriel Osenda, Baylor, 6-8, 310, OL
Osenda is originally from Alberta, Canada who arrives in Chattanooga to anchor Baylor’s top five. He played at the now-defunct Clearwater Academy in Florida in 2023. He has offers from Washington, Mississippi State, Louisville, Ole Miss, Missouri, Central Florida and South Carolina.
10. Kelvin Perkins, South Wind, 6-0, 190, QB
Perkins was impressive in his second season at Southwind in 2023. He had 2,821 yards passing, 46 touchdowns and just two interceptions while being named Mr. He also rushed for 585 yards and 11 TDs. He has an offer from Temple.
11. Keeyshawn Tabuteau, McCallie, 6-0, 175, athlete
Tabuteau had 20 receptions for 222 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed 42 times for 687 yards and 10 TDs. The Montreal, Canada native holds offers from Georgia, Tennessee, Colorado, Oklahoma, Wisconsin and Vanderbilt, among others.
12. Owen Cabell, CPA, 6-3, 195, WR
Cabell holds Georgia, Tennessee deals, Louisville and Vanderbilt. He caught 24 passes for 442 yards and six touchdowns as a wide receiver while helping the Lions win the Division II-AA state championship in 2023.
13. Carson Sneed, DCA, 6-5, 235, TE
The four-star tight end is ranked the No. 5 prospect in the state and has offers from Tennessee, Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma, LSU, Florida, Miami and Michigan, among others. He had 15 receptions for 297 yards, but was deadly in the red zone with 10 touchdowns for the Wildcats.
14. Brody Smith, Maryville, 6-5, 240, OL
Smith is the No. 11 player in the state and the No. 30 offensive lineman in the country. He made the All-Region 2-6A team at Bearden last year and has offers from Tennessee, Penn State, Georgia Tech, Miami and Colorado.
15. Craig Tutt, Oakland, 6-0, 180, Safety
A three-star defensive back, Tutt has offers from Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Louisville, among others. He is the 10th ranked prospect in the state and had 54 tackles, four sacks, four interceptions and six pass breakups in 2023.
16. Tre’von McGory, Germantown, 6-0, 175, WR
McGory had 873 yards and 10 touchdowns while being named to The Commercial Appeal’s All-Metro team last year. He has offers from Arkansas, Tennessee, Purdue, Ole Miss and Missouri, among others.
17. Camden Goforth, McMinn County, 6-4, 295, OL
Goforth was dominant on offense, leading McMinn County to nearly 3,000 rushing yards and a 6-5 record. He received recruiting interest from Chattanooga and Eastern Kentucky.
18. Kolby Barrett, Baylor, 6-2, 190, DB
Barrett’s speed makes him a tough matchup for opposing wide receivers. The Red Raiders could use him on the outside or at the nickel position. He holds offers from Memphis, Purdue and Wake Forest.
19. Jacob Rathbone, page, 6-3, 285, OL
Rathbone was named to the Tennessean’s 2023 Large Class All-Midstate first team, as well as TSWA All State. He had 28 pancake blocks and was named Region 6-5A Lineman of the Year. He has offers from Memphis, WKU, Liberty, Ball State and Miami (Ohio).
20. Zyntreacs Otey, BGA, 5-11, 165, DB
Otey transferred from Riverdale during the offseason. He had 66 tackles, four pass breakups, two tackles for loss and two interceptions last season for the Warriors and has offers from schools including Purdue, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Kentucky and Louisville.
21. Jayden McClure, Mt. Pleasant, 6-2, 205, LB
McClure had 33 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He has offers from Colorado, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.
22. Moussa Seck, McCallie, 6-5, 320, OL
A big tackle for McCallie, Seck will anchor the front line for the Division II-AAA champions. He has offers from Syracuse and Boston College.
23. Jayzon Thompson, Bearden, 5-10, 170, RB
Thompson had 257 carries for 1,450 yards and 21 touchdowns. He was the Region 2-6A Sophomore of the Year and has offers from Virginia Tech, Auburn, Wisconsin, Ole Miss, Purdue and West Virginia, among others.
24. Celley Davis, Houston, 6-0, 190, RB
Davis had 88 carries for 509 yards and six touchdowns for the Mustangs. He has offers from Arkansas State, Indiana and TCU.
25. Joshua Sims, Pearl-Cohn, 6-0, 175, CB
Academically, Sims is a senior but has been reclassified as junior athletic. He had 70 tackles, two for loss, three interceptions and three forced fumbles while helping lead Pearl-Cohn to the Class 4A state title last year. He has offers from Louisville, Kentucky, Western Kentucky, Purdue and Colorado.
Contact sports writer George Robinson at geogerobinsontheleafchronicle.com and on Platform X (formerly Twitter) @Cville_Sports.
This article originally appeared in the Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA Football: 2024 Tennessee Junior Top 50 Rankings
