Photo via App State Athletics

Tennessee football has added another piece to its retooled secondary. On Saturday evening, DJ Burks committed to the Vols out of Appalachian State.

Burks visited Tennessee this past Thursday to get an in-person look at Josh Heupel and the program. He has plenty of familiarity with UT already, though. Burks is from Maryville, Tennessee, just outside of Knoxville, where he helped Maryville High School earn a 53-4 record over four seasons with a 6-A state championship.

Burks finished this past season with the Mountainers with 65 tackles, ranking third on the team. He produced five passes deflected, two interceptions and a pair of forced fumbles. He is the leading tackler for the team over the past two seasons combined, as well.

According to his agency, Winner’s Circle Enterprise, Burks was also receiving interest from USC, Wisconsin, MTSU, Liberty and Sam Houston.

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Besides being from Maryville, there’s another obvious tie with the Vols. Joey Aguilar, UT’s starting quarterback for the 2025 season, played a pair of seasons as Burks’ teammate with the Mountaineers. Aguilar is currently fighting to gain an additional year of eligibility, but reports indicate that it is unlikely he’ll be cleared for 2026.

Burks now joins a safety room that will have a ton of talent. Tennessee is already returning Edrees Farooq, who started every game last season, and has added multiple transfers. This includes Qua Moss from Kansas State, Dejuan Lane from Penn State and TJ Metcalf from Michigan. UT also adds a strong recruiting class from the high school ranks.

Other defensive backs joining Tennessee out of the portal include Tevis Metcalf from Michigan, the brother of TJ Metcalf, and Auburn starting corner Kayin Lee. Tennessee has landed a total of 16 commitments through the portal so far, including three offensive players, two specialists and 11 defenders.