Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel and the Volunteers went to North Carolina last year and landed their quarterback of the future out of the state.
When it comes to the 2028 class, Heupel decided to run that strategy back.
On Monday, Lake Norman (Mooresville, NC) four-star quarterback Kaden Craft announced his commitment to Josh Heupel and the Volunteers. He chose Tennessee over Florida, LSU, Michigan, Ole Miss and Oregon.
According to 247Sports, the 6-foot-4, 210-pounder is ranked as the No. 131 player in the 2028 class. The site ranks him as the No. 9 quarterback prospect and No. 5 player out of North Carolina.
Craft began his high school career as a freshman throwing for 1,171 yards and 13 touchdowns while also rushing for four more touchdowns. He did throw 12 interceptions that season but saw a significant improvement in that department last season.
In 2025 Craft threw for 1,739 yards and 17 touchdowns while only throwing four interceptions. He was also a weapon on the ground rushing for 387 yards and 13 touchdowns.
With his commitment, seven of the top 10 quarterback prospects in the 2028 recruiting cycle have already announced their commitments. Of those seven, six have come in the last three months.
American Heritage (FL) four-star Neimann Lawrence started the run with his commitment to Texas on June 25. July saw commitment from Benjamin Russell (AL) four-star Kingston Preyear to Alabama and Hun School (NJ) four-star Lukas Prock to Indiana.
So far in August, two five-star quarterbacks have come off of the board. St. John's Prep (MA) announced his commitment to Ohio State on August 8 and Cass Technical (MI) committed to Texas A&M on August 15.
North Carolina's becoming a favorite for Heupel
While Heupel has gone all over the country to land his high school quarterback commitments, he's gone into the Tar Heel State in two of the last three cycles.
Before he was battling for the starting quarterback job with the Volunteers, freshman quarterback Faizon Brandon was winning state championships at Grimsley (Greensboro, NC) and was ranked as one of the top quarterbacks in the country.
247Sports ranked Brandon as the No. 3 overall player for the 2026 class and the No. quarterback prospect.
While Craft has a long way to go to get close to where Brandon ended up, he is the cornerstone of Tennessee's 2028 class. He was Heupel's first commitment for the cycle and will be who the Volunteers build around as they go from the 2027 class to 2028.
Follow Sports Reporter Joe Spears on X at @joe_spears7 or via email: JSpears@usatodayco.com. For additional high school sports coverage, be sure to follow @usatodayhss on Instagram and X.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee football, Josh Heupel land 2028 4-star quarterback Kaden Craft