Tennessee Vols battling the Georgia Bulldogs for elite 4-star recruit from Atlanta

Last year, the Tennessee Vols went into the state of Georgia and swiped one of the top recruits in the nation from the Georgia Bulldogs' backyard. 

And they're trying to do it again this year. 

Tennessee signed five-star wide receiver Mike Matthews, who is from Lilburn, GA, during the 2024 recruiting cycle, landing the recruit over Georgia (despite a strong NIL push from the Bulldogs). 

Now, the Vols are hoping to land 2025 four-star wide receiver Travis Smith Jr over Georgia. 

Smith, 6-foot-4/191 lbs from Atlanta, GA, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 11 wide receiver in the 2025 recruiting class. 

Alabama, Auburn, Florida State, Georgia, and Tennessee, among others, are pursuing Smith. 

But it's Georgia and Tennessee that are the two programs believed to be at the top of Smith's list. 

Smith told 247Sports recently that he doesn't really have a leader at the moment, but it sounds like Georgia and Tennessee are doing the best job of recruiting him so far. 

"Georgia and Tennessee. They are competing their butts off for me. Those two are definitely up there," said Smith to 247Sports this week. 

Smith is set to take an official visit to Georgia on May 31. He'll take an official visit to Tennessee on June 21 (he also has official visits scheduled for Auburn and Alabama). 

It's always tough to land top talent in the state of Georgia over the Bulldogs. But the Vols showed during the 2024 recruiting cycle that they can land an elite five-star recruit from Georgia. That doesn't mean they'll win this recruiting battle, but the Vols are definitely a big threat to land Smith over the Bulldogs.