Top247 edge rusher from Tennessee suffers season-ending injury

A high-ranking Tennessee Commitment announced Wednesday night that he will have to sit out his senior season due to injury. Four-star class of 2025 edge rusher Jayden Loftina Top247 prospect from Somerville (NJ) High School, announced in a post on his Instagram account that he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last week, ending his final season before it officially began.

The 6-foot-4, 250-pound Loftin, who has played for Tennessee since June, said he sustained the injury Aug. 20 during the first few plays of a preseason scrimmage. He said he has not yet undergone surgery.

His Somerville team will open the season Thursday night with a home game against Hillsborough (NJ) High School.

“To Ville Football, thank you for changing my life forever,” Loftin wrote in a note included in an Instagram post announcing his injury. “You gave me a chance at something better for my life and blessed me with an amazing group of people who helped me grow as a man overall. Finish the job guys and TAKE IT.”

“Unfortunately, I tore my anterior cruciate ligament and will not be able to finish my senior year. God has prepared me for moments like this and I will not allow it to diminish my will and love for the game.

“To Vol Nation: I will be back in top shape and ready to put on a show under the lights in Neyland. #GBO,” he added, adding an orange emoji.

Loftin is ranked as the No. 202 overall prospect and No. 21 edge rusher in the class of 2025 by 247Sports, as well as the No. 5 senior from the state of New Jersey. He is also a four-star prospect in the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, where he is ranked as the No. 234 overall prospect and No. 19 edge rusher in the class of 2025.

He announced his commitment to Tennessee on June 12, just three days after completing his official visit with the Vols on the weekend of June 7. He chose Tennessee over Penn State, Syracuse And Wisconsin at that time.

At least 20 schools have offered Loftin scholarships. The Vols gave him his first SEC offer on Dec. 8, and he visited them for the first time in early April before returning to Knoxville for his second official visit in June.

Wisconsin is the only other school that has hosted him on an official visit, although he also had official visits scheduled at Syracuse and Penn State before announcing his commitment to Tennessee. Although he originally planned to join the Vols after graduating from Somerville in May, he said Wednesday night that he wants to “start my dual enrollment soon so I can potentially be there in January.”

Loftin said in June that his official visit to Tennessee convinced him that he belongs there.

“It was great. It was very family-oriented. It just fit me and my family really well,” he said at the time. “My mother said, 'I could leave you here and feel comfortable if you were here,' and that was a big incentive. As long as my family was happy, as long as I was happy, they always said, 'Just do what you think is right,' and it felt right.”

Tennessee coach Josh HeupelThe staff recruited Loftin as a prospective edge rusher who can play both the Leo position and as a strongside defensive end. He said in June that both positions were up for debate “since I'm putting on a lot of weight.”

“They just felt like I could be one of those forces coming off the edge. They already James Pearce there. He'll probably be a top-five prospect,” Loftin said, referring to the Vols' star junior edge rusher. “When I saw players like that, I thought, OK, they could definitely develop me into the player I want to be and obviously end up in the league. So they thought I could take that spot and really hold it and do what I need to do.”