'That chemistry is already built, it's not going away' – New Vols commit is hoping to flip a 4-star WR from a top college program
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The Tennessee Vols made a big, and somewhat unexpected, addition to their 2027 recruiting class earlier this month by landing three-star quarterback Derrick Baker.
Baker, 6-foot-2/220 pounds from Alpharetta, GA (he’s originally from Florida), is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 37 quarterback in the nation and the No. 62 player in the state of Georgia.
The three-star quarterback is expected to climb the recruiting rankings this spring and summer after missing time during his junior season of high school football.
As a result, other teams are expected to try to flip Baker from Tennessee.
“He’s a thick kid,” said VolQuest’s Austin Price recently on 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon and Will. “He weighs 225ish. He’s got a strong arm. He’s got to stay healthy and stay on the field, but they loved what they saw from him at camp last summer. That’s when they offered him. That’s when they really started to go harder at him. They were after him all fall — even when he was injured.
“And then (Vols OC) Joey Halzle was down there to see him shortly after he got cleared back to start throwing again. And Tennessee just kind of stayed on that one. And they’ll have to stay on it because he’s going to start playing more as he gets healthier, and I’m sure others will come back in here trying to flip him. So that’s one that Tennessee will have to stay on top of.”
While other programs will inevitably try to flip Baker, he’s working on flipping an elite talent to Tennessee.
Derrick Baker wants to flip a 4-star wide receiver from the Miami Hurricanes
Baker joined Talkin’ VAWLS this week and he told host Boogie Bentley that he’d love to bring 2027 four-star wide receiver Ah’Mari Stevens to Rocky Top.
Stevens, 5-foot-11/160 pounds from Hollywood, FL, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 31 wide receiver in the nation.
The four-star recruit has been committed to the Miami Hurricanes for over a year.
“Ah’Mari Stevens, he’s one of the ones that I’ve been with,” said Baker. “We’re from the same hometown, Fort Myers, Florida, so really that 239 area (code), we’re both from.
“I was just with him today. We’re trying to figure out how to match up an OV (official visit) together. And really kind of stay together — because we played together for pretty much every year that we’ve been together since eighth grade. So, I mean, if me and him could get to Tennessee, I think that chemistry is already built. It’s not going away.”
Stevens, who recently named a top five that includes Miami, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, and LSU, is planning to take an official visit to Knoxville. We assume Baker will make sure he takes his official visit to Tennessee the same weekend.
Tennessee has had a lot of success recruiting wide receivers in recent years — including flipping five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys from LSU during the 2026 recruiting cycle — so it certainly wouldn’t be a surprise if they end up flipping Stevens from Miami.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Feb 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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