According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Groves is the 260th-ranked player in the class of 2026. At his position in the cycle, the 6-4, 252-pound edge/defensive line prospect is ranked 25th overall and eighth in the state of Tennessee. Groves recorded 8 sacks and 27.5 tackles for loss in his second season. As a junior, he supported that with four sacks and 21 tackles for loss.
Georgia, Auburn, Arkansas, LSU, Ole Miss, Michigan, and a number of other schools have extended offers to Groves. Groves made official visits to Ole Miss and USC in June before deciding to commit to Tennessee. We’ll see whether those continue to occur.
Groves swiftly received one of his first SEC offers after making his first visit to Tennessee over two years ago. After all this time, he joins Tennessee’s 2026 class as the eighth member. Josh Heupel and his team continue to do a great job of recruiting the home state, so this is just another significant draw. Groves is one of three Volunteer State players in the class, along with four-star tight end Carson Sneed, five-star tackle Gabriel Osenda, and four-star receiver Tyreek King.
According to 247Sports, Tennessee’s pledge today places them at number 22 in the 2026 cycle.
