Tennessee Football 2028 In-State CB Target Jermaine Cobbins Visits for Third Saturday in October

The Tennessee Volunteers just finished a dominating performance over Alabama in the "Third Saturday in October."

The Vols went to the half hanging on to a 2-point lead before logging a 26-10 win over the visiting Tide.

The Tennessee football program had quite the list of visitors on hand. A lot of positives coming from the visitors, especially the defensive guys.

Josh Heupel brought in Jim Knowles during the off-season, and those efforts have been nothing short of rewarding. As many believed in what Coach Knowles does, it was thought that it would be a year or two of a process before seeing true results.

Wrong! Just in this game, the Volunteer defense held Alabama to just 10-points. The crimson tide was averaging over 30-points a game going into the contest. The clamps were applied.

2028 Springfield (TN) four-star CB Jermaine Cobbins made his way back to Rocky Top to witness the dominating defensive performance.

This was a first for Cobbins, observing the "Third Saturday in October" and it did not disappoint.

Cobbins is not speaking to the media at the moment, as the in-state talent is primarily focused on his junior season, and gathering every bit of insight possible before making any decisions in the process itself.

Vols on SI connected with Hunter DeNote, the Director of Scouting for National PlayMakers Academy to get a solid read on how the visit went for the talented 11th-grader.

DeNote makes note with Vols on SI that the major target was impressed with how the secondary along with the rest of the defensive unit played with physicality and the right aggression.

Cobbins appeared to be locked in and impressed by the overall atmosphere and production during the game according to DeNote. The in-state priority has witnessed a couple of electric games over the last couple of years inside Neyland Stadium, but this was a different level. It involved the fans and visitors celebrating with the Tennessee football program on the field gave an extra layer to what the Neyland experience is all about.

Those are the kind of memories that are irreplaceable for a young athlete. It wasn't that long ago that Tennessee football starters David Sanders Jr. and George MacIntyre climbed the wall to exit the visitor's box as high school seniors when Alabama was defeated inside Neyland Stadium in 2024. Now, those two are both starting on the offensive, creating plays and opportunities for the new visitors to enjoy that same feeling.

This is the kind of visit that the Vols needed to keep themselves within striking distance of Cobbins. At one point, the communication was lacking a bit between the two.

However, when Josh Heupel hired Jim Knowles as DC, the defensive coordinator brought a few guys along for the ride, and for this recruitment, none may be bigger than Anthony Poindexter.

The relationship between Poindexter and Cobbins has continued to grow and DeNote revealed that Coach Derek Jones is getting more involved as the coach of the corners.

DeNote expressed the importance of Poindexter and now the addition of Jones on the scene.

"Cobbins and Poindexter have been acquainted since his (Poindexter) days at Penn State, so it was good for those two to connect. A big move was getting Coach Jones more involved as he coaches Jermaine's position, so knowing your coach and getting the feel for him is important."

The 6-foot, 178-pound defender will soon complete the junior year campaign before the recruiting really amps up. Cobbins has quite the offer list, with roughly 20 schools all fighting for the services of the Tennessee native.

A big thing for Cobbins is getting his parents together for some visits to get their sense of things before making decisions. According to DeNote, at this time there is no clear-cut timeline. It is just known that Cobbins is wanting to make some trips as a full family, and as of now, those visits are potentially going to take place in the latter part of winter/early spring.

As mentioned earlier, Cobbins does have a group of schools still battling, but it is uncertain at this time if Cobbins will plan to set a group of schools of interest prior to the family visits, or if they will use the off-season to see a big portion of the options.

Denote tells Vols on SI that relationships are definitely one. Cobbins is a small-town guy where faith, family, and football is all they have, so having relationships with coaches and knowing you can trust them as a father figure or an extended uncle is going to be huge.

The second big factor is development. Players who have the opportunity to play at the collegiate level are going to aim at the pros, but development is vital for that to take place.

The great thing for the Vols is Cobbins has seen the progress of the overall defense and especially the defensive backs as it was discussed between Cobbins and DeNote that the defensive backs are more aggressive and physical. That point was mentioned earlier as the blue-chip defender analyzed what was defensive backs and entire defense was doing. The style of play that the state's top player enjoys himself.

The secondary came up time and time again to make plays in the run game and when their number was called for fire plays, disruption was quickly to follow.

Early in the game, Ty Redmond coming from his corner position got up in the throwing lane of Russell and nearly finished the play with a pick-six after deflecting the ball of the Alabama quarterback's hand.

Cobbins got a good look at the new brand of Tennessee football, and it may not have come at a better time.

The coveted four-star could find himself in Tuscaloosa for an upcoming visit, while talks of a potential trip to Gainesville, Florida is also on the table.

Stay tuned for the next stages of the process for Cobbins.

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