The Tennessee Volunteers were the host of a massive recruiting Saturday. They hosted many top names and targets in multiple classes, including one of their top overall targets in the 2026 class.
Providence Day High School offensive lineman Leo Delaney made it down to Knoxville from Charlotte, North Carolina, for another Vols visit. Delaney has been a huge target for Glen Elarbee and Josh Heupel throughout the 2026 class and they are hopeful to have him commit down the road.
Delaney is a 6-foot-6, 280-pound frame with many offers, including Clemson, Michigan, Tennessee, and more. Following his visit, Delaney would catch up with Vols On SI to detail his trip and more.
“It was a really good visit, I got to meet with Coach [Glen] Elarbee and Coach [Josh] Heupel. It was a really good visit, I had a great time being around players and my old teammate David Sanders, the coaches. It’s just a place I feel really comfortable at every time I’m in town,” Delaney said when speaking to Vols On SI.
Delaney had the opportunity to spend time with many coaches, including both Coach Elarbee and Coach Pendleton, who work alongside each other on the offensive line. He also expressed some key notes he took from Heupel.
“The coaches I spent the most time with were Coach Elarbee, of course, Coach Kevin Pendleton, he’s the assistant offensive line coach, and Coach Heupel. Coach Elarbee and Coach KP, I believe they are both smart in football, and I think they make a great connection with all of their athletes and I think they coach the players well because they all listen really well to them. I think Coach Heupel brings a really good sense of humility to the team, he’s a hard-working guy. He makes sure everyone is humble and everyone gets after it.”
Delaney has been on the receiving end of the same pitch for a long time he tells Vols On SI. This pitch still holds a special place in Delaney’s recruitment.
“They’re pitch has been similar to the ones before,” Delaney confirmed. “They love me and they think I’d be a great fit for their program. They think they can develop me into a great football player and a great person. I know they have the tools to do it, and I know it’s a place I love being, so it’s really a special place.”
As explained earlier, Delaney is from Providence Day High School, which is the same school that five-star true freshman David Sanders Jr. attended. Delaney recaps being able to see his former teammate live in action and what that meant to him when considering Tennessee.
“I think that was probably the most special part of my visit. Just getting to see someone I played football with,” said Delaney. “I got to ask him questions about the program, and I know he isn’t just going to lie to me about a program, so I got to talk to him, and I could tell he was telling the truth, and you can see it on his face that he’s happy at Tennessee. I think it just says a lot about the program.”
Sanders has been attempting to pull Delaney in since before he was even officially committed to the Vols. The talented four-star offensive lineman details more.
“He’s been peer recruiting me since before he officially committed. He’s loved just talking everything Tennessee, and he has a special kind of love for the program,” the former teammate of Sanders said.
He will be back in Knoxville, Tennessee for an official visit which Delaney believes will be the last visit to Tennessee before making a decision.
“I think so. I think the official is next for me. I have Michigan next weekend and then I have Wisconsin the weekend after that, and I have Penn State the weekend after that.”
He hopes to see consistency from his official visit as he has already seen the program and what it has to offer at this point in his recruitment.
“Honestly, I want to see the consistency and that it is the program I think it is and love. I think they’re a bunch of hard-working dudes, they get after it, they do it the right way.”
Delaney has an ideal commitment timeline. The talent recruit looks forward to a possible summer commitment around his official visits.
“I’d like to commit in June ideally.”
So what about this visit? What is the full recap? Delaney provided an eye-catching response that should have any fan excited, claiming that he left the visit in love with the program,
“I’m leaving this visit in love with the program. Like every time I leave this place it feels like somewhere I can see myself being.”
Delaney continues to be one of the Vols top targets and by the way his visit went, the Vols are just on high on his board.
