This past weekend, four-star defensive line target Dereon Albert got his first look at Tennessee football.

As a result, he has cancelled his planned official visit to see Mississippi State this weekend.

Albert is the No. 24 defensive tackle in the 2026 class out of Jackson, Mississippi.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

After his recent visit, Albert caught up with VolReport to give his thoughts.

"I liked everything," Albert said. "The coaches, the facility, the people. It felt like home, everybody was there. I liked the program, I liked it all."

While he's a supreme athlete on the football field, there wasn't much talk about what will go on between the white lines during his official visit. Instead, the staff took time to talk about Albert as a person and who he could become at UT.

This left a lasting impression on the recruit and his parents.

He did get time to connect with legendary defensive line coach Rodney Garner, though, along with head coach Josh Heupel.

"Coach G is very real with people," Albert said. "He's going to keep it 100% with you. He's a great person, he'll love you hard and everything. Coach Heupel is real too. He's 100% real, man. It's just love."

Consistent with the decision to not head to Starkville to see Mississippi State, Albert did reveal where Tennessee is at in his recruitment to this point.

The four-star admitted there's probably nobody higher.

"It boosts them high," Albert said. "They are probably number one right now."

The Vols currently hold just nine commitments in the 2026 class. This is good for the No. 31 group in the country to this point.

The group is headlined by five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon who is the top signal caller in the cycle and No. 2 overall player.

Tyreek King is knocking on the door of five-star status, but currently sits as a highly-ranked four-star.

Other four-stars committed to this point are tight end Carson Sneed, offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda and edge rusher Zach Groves.

Three-stars in the boat are edge rusher CJ Edwards, linebacker Braylon Outlaw and safety KJ McClain. On Saturday morning, unranked athlete Luke Thompson joined, as well.

In 2027, Tennessee just landed the commitment of three-star local linebacker JP Peace.

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @ByNoahTaylor, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media.