Volunteer State native Keaten Wade is an ideal fit for a Jeremy Pruitt defense.

The 6-foot-4, 225-pound athlete rushes the quarterback from the edge for Summit High School – Tennessee’s current Class 5-A state champion. He also plays inside, shifts outside to play nickel and can cover well.

He’s an athlete who can be moved around depending on down, distance and situations.

“I feel like I can be an impact player for a program one day,” Wade said. “I study the game by watching film and use that knowledge to create a difference on the field. I’m a good teammate and I listen to my coaches.”

The four-star is a Rivals Top-150 player in the 2022 cycle. He’s the fourth-rated prospect in the state of Tennessee and the No. 16 outside linebacker in the class.

And he’s a hard worker.

In fact, Wade works so hard, it caused him to be sidelined for a portion of his junior season.

“I was hurt for most of this season having to miss all but one of our five regular season games,” Wade reflected. “I came back and played in our semifinal and state championship games even though I still wasn’t feeling great.

“I had a Jones foot fracture and was forced to have surgery at the beginning of the season. I just needed to rest it because I was probably working too hard.”

Now healthy, the Spring Hill, Tenn. native is diving headfirst into the recruiting process.

Wade has around 18 offers with SEC programs such as the Vols, Kentucky, Ole Miss and Mississippi State heavily in the mix. Arizona State and Oklahoma are also on the radar.

UT initially offered Wade and his twin brother, athlete Destin Wade, back in February.

“I remember, I was working the scoreboard for a kids game and Tennessee called to offer us,” Wade told Volquest. “It was coach [Jeremy] Pruitt and coach [Tee] Martin. They’ve called us a few times throughout the season and called to congratulate us on our state championship win here recently.”

For the four-star twin brothers, recruiting is often done together – especially during a virtually-driven pandemic cycle. The two will call and put the phone on speaker or Facetime coaches together.

Both Keaten and Destin are trying to stay together at the next level.

“I think it’s important to play together,” Keaten said. “It would be smarter to stay together for our family, but we also have a great chemistry - even if we are playing on different sides of the ball. It’s always been there.”

With the Early Signing Period in the review mirror, Wade knows his class is p next.

“We are now just a year away from signing and that’s really exciting,” the linebacker said. “I still have a long way to go but it’s going to be a good decision. It will be a fun process to pick a school with my brother.”

The two intend to announce a joint-commitment at some point before their first senior football game next fall.

Tennessee will certainly be in the mix.

“I really like how coach Pruitt is open and how he treats us like family,” Wade said. “I really like coach Martin, too, and enjoy talking with him. I feel like he’s a good guy who cares about us.

“Tennessee has great fight and have shown that it every game this season. They really don’t let a bad game affect the next – they just keep on playing hard and coaching hard.”

Wade has also enjoyed watching Vols linebacker Henry To’o To’o play the past two seasons. He’s studied how he plays and tries to employ some of that into his own game at the position.

“I like how aggressive he is on the field,” Wade said of Tennessee’s middle lineabcker. “He reads the play fast and uses his length like I do.”

Wade will continue on with the recruiting process over the next year with hopes of taking official visits next fall.