Four-star Jonathan Echols flips from Tennessee football to USF, Alex Golesh
Four-star Jonathan Echols flipped his commitment from Tennessee football to USF on Friday, choosing former Josh Heupel assistant and current USF coach Alex Golesh over playing for the Vols.
Echols announced his change in heart on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, after almost 18 months committed to the Vols. Echols is a top-200 recruit from IMG Academy who committed to Tennessee in July 2022. He was UT's first commitment in the 2024 class at the time.
Golesh, who was UT's offensive coordinator in Heupel's first two seasons, went 6-6 in his first season with USF. He was Tennessee's tight ends coach when Echols committed to the Vols.
Echols is the No. 13 tight end recruit nationally in the 247Sports Composite. He is the No. 179 overall prospect, which made him the eighth highest-rated prospect in the 2024 class. The 6-foot-4, 230-pound Echols chose the Vols over Alabama, Georgia, Florida, LSU, Ohio State, Miami and several other schools.
Echols played quarterback, wide receiver and defensive end at Heard County High in Franklin, Georgia, in 2021 and then transferred to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
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Tennessee graduated starting tight ends McCallan Castles and Jacob Warren. Echols was the lone tight end committed to UT.
Tennessee has 19 commits in the 2024 class, which ranks No. 14 nationally.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Jonathan Echols: USF flips former Tennessee football commit
