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Josh Heupel and his coaching staff have gone on a warpath trying to keep in-state talent home. They checked off another box in that category flipping Oakland running back Daune Morris from USC.
Morris had been committed to the Trojans since April 7.
Tennessee had been after Morris consistently since his USC commitment and never let up.
He was at Neyland Stadium in late October to watch the Volunteers beat Kentucky 28-18. On Saturday he was back and watched the Vols pummel UTEP 56-0.
On3’s Industry Ranking has Morris as a three-star recruit and the No. 508 player in the 2025 class. Rivals has the highest ranking on him ranking him as a four-star recruit.
Morris transferred to Oakland from Red Bank ahead of his junior year. He immediately became a force for the Patriots in their run back to Class 6A championship game. A 2023 Mr. Football finalist, he ran for 2,012 yards, had 586 yards receiving and 36 total touchdowns.
An ankle injury suffered on Oakland’s first drive of the season hampered Morris’ first half of the season. He missed three games before returning in limited action against Blackman.
On the year he’s rushed for 603 yards and 12 touchdowns. Morris also has two receiving touchdowns.
The last two weeks Morris has been at his best leading Oakland to come-from-behind playoff wins over Mt. Juliet and Riverdale. Between those two games he rushed for 482 yards and eight touchdowns.
Heupel keeping in-state talent home
Morris may not be the highest-ranked player in Tennessee’s 2025 class but the Vols flipping him confirms that Heupel is making an effort to keep the state’s best players home.
Whether they’re highly-ranked players like George MacIntyre or Ethan Utley or underrated guys like Brenden Anes and Morris, the Vols’ 2025 class has a heavy in-state influence.
Morris is the seventh in-state recruit to commit to the Vols. He’s the second to flip to Tennessee in the last few weeks.
Page standout linebacker Brenden Anes flipped his commitment from Wisconsin to Tennessee Halloween night.
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