Tennessee football, Josh Heupel land commitment from Brandon Leavell of Goodpasture

MADISON — Goodpasture junior Brandon Leavell committed to Josh Heupel and Tennessee football in a ceremony at his high school on May 18. Leavell, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound three-star athlete, had Tennessee, Florida, Florida State, Clemson and North Carolina State among his finalists. He was one of the fastest-rising prospects in Tennessee over the offseason.

Leavell caught 35 passes for 735 yards and 12 TDs as a junior during the 2025 TSSAA football season . He also had four interceptions on defense and was a Division II-AA Middle All-Region selection. More: Ravenwood flag football erases 25-point third-quarter deficit, wins TSSAA championship More: Tracking TSSAA football coaching changes after 2025 season in Nashville area Leavell didn’t have a Division I offer until this past February when UConn and Arkansas State got involved.

Tennessee was his first Power 4 offer. Since then, his list has grown to 24 schools, including Indiana, Ole Miss, Florida and Auburn. His commitment comes right before a string of scheduled visits at his finalists, with Tennessee (May 21), Clemson (May 29), North Carolina State (June 5) and Florida State (June 12) all previously set to take place before July.

Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at tpalmateer@tennessean.