Tennessee is one of the best colleges vying for an in-state offensive lineman with a high ranking. The Vols are among the six SEC teams that four-star offensive lineman Chauncey Gooden of Lipscomb Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, is strongly considering. Gooden revealed his top 10 college options on social media on Friday.
The 6-foot-4, 320-pound Gooden, a Top247 prospect who earned a scholarship offer from the Vols more than two years ago, has a group of front-runners that includes Michigan, Oregon, Auburn, Colorado, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Missouri, Clemson, and Georgia in addition to Tennessee. More than fifty institutions have already extended offers to him, including all ten of the teams he has prioritised.
He is the No. 8 interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class, the No. 4 junior from Tennessee, and the 154th overall prospect according to 247Sports. In the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, he is rated as a four-star prospect as well as the No. 217 overall player and No. 14 interior offensive lineman in the 2025 class.
During his first season at Lipscomb in October 2021, Gooden received an early offer from Tennessee, and he has at least made a couple trips to visit the Vols since then. Over the previous three seasons, he has seen one home game for the Vols, including their victory over Texas A&M on October 14.
Since June, Gooden has visited the University of Tennessee campus at least three times. Concurrent with Tennessee’s last-ever camp, he travelled to Knoxville in late June, then on July 29, he returned to see the Vols for their “Rocky Top Kickoff” celebration.
