Daevin Hobbs has been on Tennessee’s radar since participating in one of the Vols’ camps last year. He also traveled to Knoxville last season for two of their home games, and by the time he returned Sunday for another camp at Tennessee, he thought there was a good chance he would come away with a scholarship offer.
Sure enough, the Vols became the latest major program to join the race for the four-star Class of 2023 defensive lineman from Jay M. Robinson High School in Concord, N.C., extending an offer to him Sunday following his strong showing at Tennessee’s camp Sunday afternoon. He said the Vols are “a contender now,” but with more than 20 teams pursuing him after a flurry of spring offers, they have plenty of competition for him.
The 6-foot-4, 262-pound Hobbs said he “was kind of expecting” the offer from Tennessee coach
Josh Heupel’s staff. And after visiting the Vols a few times last year, he said they’re one of several teams he’s considering.
“It’s an SEC school,” said Hobbs, who’s ranked by 247Sports as the No. 121 overall prospect and No. 15 defensive lineman in the 2023 class and the No. 2 rising senior from North Carolina. “They’re not too far for me, so everybody can come to watch the games. …
“I like the new coaching staff, and I like the team environment, just the overall environment of the fans, the campus — just everything, a little mix of everything.”
Hobbs said Tennessee’s coaches had been talking with him “a lot,” and his sisters “were coming up here for the women’s basketball team, so I just came up with them” to participate in Sunday’s camp. His sister, Ella Hobbs, is a highly regarded basketball prospect in the 2024 class who holds offers from a number of major programs.
While the Vols have remained interested in Hobbs since he went to one of their camps last year, he said the progress he made during his junior season — and his continued growth since then — have helped him emerge as one of the top prospects from North Carolina over the past few months.
“Since the last time I’ve been up (to Tennessee), I think I’ve grown an inch and I’ve put on, like, 20 more pounds,” he said. “I feel like my junior season was really good. I did good my junior season, so that helped a lot.”
Tennessee defensive line coach
Rodney Garner showed Hobbs plenty of attention during Sunday’s camp. Hobbs said Heupel informed him of the offer following the camp.
“They like how I move for my size, my athletic ability, the amount of control I have and how smooth I make it look,” Hobbs said. “And then they were saying, off the field, how they like my character and all that, I come from a good family, how I’d be good in the locker room, and that’s what they want.”
Hobbs said the Vols are recruiting him as a defensive end, although “they didn’t mention anything specifically” about which position they envision him playing on the defensive line.
Even after visiting Tennessee a handful of times, he said he will “probably be back up there” in the coming months. It remains to be seen, though, whether the Vols will get one of his remaining official visits. He said he has scheduled official visits to Auburn this weekend and North Carolina the weekend of June 24, and he’s “going to save the last three for the fall.”
“Right now, I would say they’re probably battling for an official,” Hobbs said of the Vols.
