BREAKING: Former Alabama CB Brandon Turnage commits to Tennessee

The Tennessee football team picked up its second commit Thursday evening when former Alabama cornerback Brandon Turnage announced he is coming to Rocky Top.

“I feel like Tennessee is getting a good, solid corner. An athletic player who can go up and make plays on the ball,” Turnage told Volquest. “I excel in man-to-man, but I can play all coverages.”

The new Volunteer was a redshirt freshman for the Crimson Tide in 2020 – earning playing time in three games with one pass breakup. Turnage saw the field in one game as a true freshman in 2019.

At Tennessee, the newcomer will have an opportunity to compete in what is a thin cornerback room for veteran coach Willie Martinez.

“He’s a real coach,” Turnage said about Martinez. “He’s been in the SEC for a long time and knows what he is doing. He has relationships with my old coaches, so that’s good. I know that I can trust him.”

It’s been a rollercoaster offseason for Turnage who entered the transfer portal and initially saw Georgia as his new home. After a few weeks in Athens, the defensive back continued his search and briefly stopped by Tennessee's campus on Sunday.

“It’s going to be fun to come in here and compete,” Turnage said Thursday evening. “It’s a nice campus and something I can get used to. It’s very similar to what I’ve come from.”

Turnage was one of the top-rated players out of Mississippi in the 2019 recruiting cycle and was one of the top-200 players in the class. Rivals tabbed Turnage as the state’s 10th-best player and No. 16 cornerback overall.

Turnage, who will be competing for snaps this fall, has four years of eligibility remaining.