Vols lost a commit after the player took a visit to Tennessee for a game that UT won, proving that recruiting makes no sense

The Tennessee Vols finished the 2025 recruiting cycle with the No. 10 ranked recruiting class in the nation (per On3).

Tennessee may have finished a few spots higher in the rankings had they been able to hold on to four-star safety Lagonza Hayward.

Hayward originally committed to the Volunteers in late July, but he decommitted from Tennessee in early December and signed with the Florida Gators instead.

That decision came less than two months after he told On3 that Tennessee was “home”.

“It was a great game….love being able to say I’m a Vol and I’m not flipping,” said Hayward to On3 after Tennessee’s win against Florida. “This is home. Just to clear the air.”

Hayward finished the recruiting cycle ranked by On3 as the No. 35 overall player in the nation (which means he just missed being a five-star in their final rankings).

So why did an extremely talented player who was seemingly locked in with the Vols flip his commitment from Tennessee to Florida just before signing day?

One reason, according to Hayward, is because of the impression the Gators made on him when he visited Knoxville for Tennessee’s overtime win against Florida this past season.

“Florida has always been in the back of my mind,” said Hayward to On3’s Chad Simmons in December. “When they played Tennessee and went to overtime against them at Neyland Stadium, I was like, ‘Hold on.’ I started paying attention to them…Their defense played great. Everybody was flying around. It wasn’t just one position group.”

The Hayward situation perfectly illustrates how wild recruiting is in the current era of college football. Tennessee essentially did everything right. The Vols beat their top rival in front of Hayward, which had the coveted recruit telling recruiting services that he was locked in with Tennessee, and UT still lost him to Florida.

It makes no sense. But nothing about recruiting in the NIL era makes much sense. Hayward would’ve been a nice addition to the Vols’ 2025 recruiting class, but sometimes a program can do everything right and still not win the recruiting battle.