Tennessee's opening weekend: five verified top performers

Recruit Intel scored every recorded box score from Tennessee's opening weekend and ranked the field by RPM. Here are the five highest, classes of 2027 and later, each verified against our canonical database.

Tennessee's opening weekend, by the numbers

Tennessee high school football opened the 2026 season on the weekend of August 21. Recruit Intel scored every recorded box score from that weekend and ranked the top performers by RPM, our Recruit Performance Metric. What follows are the five highest scores in the state among the class of 2027 and later. Every stat line below comes from our canonical database, drawn from recorded box scores for games of August 21 and 22, and each player is verified by record against a current roster.

The top five performers

RPM is a percentile score within the weekend's recorded box scores, so 100 sits at the top of the field. Each performance carries a sample of one game.

Colton Johnson, TE, Upperman (Baxter), class of 2027. The tight end also played defense, posting 9 tackles with 4 for loss against Webb, and he added a rushing touchdown. RPM 99.6, the top score in the state.
Brayden Dolan, Station Camp (Gallatin), class of 2028. A big defensive game: 12 tackles, 4 for loss, 3 sacks, 2 forced fumbles and a fumble recovery against Greenwood. RPM 99.1.
Caden Jay, RB, Lenoir City, class of 2027. 32 carries for 227 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns against Campbell County, with a long of 38 and 4 catches added. RPM 98.3.
Jaden Champion, QB, Humboldt, class of 2028. 23 of 29 for 426 passing yards and 3 touchdowns with one interception against Halls, and he ran for 58 yards and a score. RPM 98.3.
Max Curry, WR, Battle Ground Academy (Franklin), class of 2028. 5 catches for 191 receiving yards and 2 touchdowns against St. Michael Catholic on Saturday, with an 80 yard long. RPM 98.2.

How the board is built

RPM ranks a single game's production as a percentile against every other recorded box score in the same position family and window, rewarding volume, efficiency, scoring and strength of opponent in one number. This board covers each player's opening game from the weekend of August 21 and 22, 2026, and is limited to players in the class of 2027 or later. It is the top five by RPM for the weekend. The full state boards live at recruit-intel.io.