There was no particular reason Kaleb Beasley decided to post a picture on his Twitter account Friday afternoon showing him posing in a Tennessee uniform during one of his visits with the Vols. None of Tennessee's coaches stopped at his school this week, and he hasn't visited the Vols since traveling to Knoxville in late January.
But by tweeting the picture, along with a short message, the four-star Class of 2024 cornerback from Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tenn., offered an indication of where Tennessee stands in the early stages of his recruitment. Beasley said the Vols are his leader among the more than 20 teams pursuing him, and he plans to visit them again on June 1.
The 5-foot-11, 174-pound Beasley told GoVols247 that Tennessee on Friday night that "(definitely) leads." He has visited the Vols twice since October, and they have caught his attention for multiple reasons, starting with the fact that they're his "hometown" team.
"The fan base is crazy, and I'm cool with every player there," said Beasley, who's ranked by 247Sports as the No. 194 overall prospect and No. 20 cornerback in the 2024 class and the No. 2 sophomore from the state of Tennessee.
Beasley is a teammate of Tennessee wide receiver commitment Nate Spillman and four-star Class of 2024 linebacker Edwin Spillman, a fellow Vols target who's ranked by 247Sports as the state's No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class. Beasley received a scholarship offer from Tennessee's former staff in December 2020, and coach Josh Heupel's staff reaffirmed his previous offer from the Vols almost a year ago
They have continued to make him a priority since then. He has stayed in contact with Heupel's staff over the past several months, and he visited Tennessee for the first time Oct. 9 to attend its home game against South Carolina. The Vols most recently hosted him on Jan. 29.
Asked about his tweet Friday showing him during one of his visits to Tennessee, Beasley said via text message, "I just love it!!"
While he said he's currently in no hurry to decide on a college, he made it clear that the Vols have continued to impress him. During his trip to Tennessee in late January, he said Heupel told him "how they want me really bad."
“We watched some of my film and compared it to, like, the other (defensive backs) that played at Tennessee," Beasley said at the time. "(Defensive backs coach
Willie Martinez) just talked about how he’s trying to build a relationship with me and my family, how he wants me and him to get really close. …
“(Heupel) talked about how I’m a really big recruit in the 2024 class, and how they want me really bad, and to just keep working and keep pushing.”
Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Penn State and Vanderbilt also are among the more than 20 schools that have extended early offers to Beasley.