Will Rajecki

Physical Profile

Listed 5-11, 199 at signing and already 208 on Tennessee's 2026 roster, which is the right frame for an SEC every-down back: low center of gravity, thick lower half, and enough mass to absorb 270-carry seasons without breaking down (he played 12 and 13 games the last two years). Self-reported laser 4.48 forty is adequate rather than elite speed; the film shows functional long speed to finish runs but not a true home-run gear. The athletic profile is contact balance and short-area burst rather than top-end explosiveness, and the build fits a zone-and-gap, one-cut system better than a space-and-perimeter role.

Play Style

Rajecki describes himself as a tough, physical, good-vision back who finishes runs, and the tape matches: he presses the line, plants once, and gets vertical with his shoulders square. He rarely dances behind the line and seldom loses yardage. He carries defenders in the last five yards and was the primary engine of an 11-2 Sequoyah team that leaned on him as a runner, receiver, and returner. In the passing game he is a natural hands catcher on swings, angles, and flat routes, and he sets up in protection rather than lunging. The overall profile is a reliable, coach-trusted, every-down back with a high floor and modest ceiling.

Strengths

• Volume durability and finishing: 274 carries at 7.2 yards per carry with 30 scores against Georgia 6A/7A-level competition, following a 265-carry junior year. He runs behind his pads, falls forward, and his YPC jumped from 5.8 to 7.2 as a senior despite the same workload, which points to improved vision and decisiveness rather than a softer schedule.
• Three-down receiving value: 26 catches for 357 yards as a senior and 38 for 578 with 5 TDs as a junior. Tennessee's staff specifically cited his ability to catch out of the backfield as the trait that closed the deal, and he models his game on Christian McCaffrey. This is a real skill, not a checkdown outlet.
• Pass protection: Tennessee's staff named his pass-pro film as a reason they pursued him late, which is unusual praise for a high school back and the single fastest path to early snaps in Heupel's tempo offense.
• Special teams background: 232 kickoff-return and 79 punt-return yards as a senior, 407 kick-return yards as a junior, giving him a genuine route to the field as a true freshman.

Areas to Improve

• Top-end speed and explosive-play ability: a 4.48 laser and a game built on contact balance mean he will need to win with vision and cuts, not breakaway runs, against SEC pursuit angles. Long runs will come from good tracks, not from outrunning safeties.
• Competition jump and pad-level consistency: high school production came on a heavy diet of inside runs behind a strong Sequoyah line. He has to prove the same decisiveness when the first level is not blocked cleanly and when he is a 208-pound back meeting 240-pound SEC linebackers.
• Long-speed proof and testing: his combine-type numbers are self-reported. A verified forty, shuttle, and vertical from Tennessee's summer testing will define whether he is a rotational back or a lead back.

College Projection

He enrolled at Tennessee for 2026 and enters a room with DeSean Bishop (1,076 yards, 16 TDs in 2025) as the clear starter, Tulane transfer Javin Gordon as the primary complement, and sophomores Justin Baker and Daune Morris. Expect a redshirt-eligible true freshman year built around special teams (kick coverage or return) and up to four games of offensive snaps, with a real chance to be the No. 2 or No. 3 back by 2027 once Bishop's eligibility runs out. His pass protection and receiving skills give him the best odds of anyone in his class at the position to earn third-down trust early. Realistic ceiling is a multi-year rotational SEC starter and 800 to 1,000-yard producer by year three or four, with the floor of a dependable depth and special-teams contributor.

Best Fit

Tennessee's Heupel offense is a reasonable fit: wide-split tempo spread with heavy inside-zone and counter, where a decisive one-cut back who does not fumble, protects the quarterback, and catches swing passes has value even without elite speed. He is at his best in a system that gives him volume behind a strong interior line and uses him as a receiver on angle and flat routes, and least effective in a scheme that asks him to win on the perimeter or create yardage in space. Programs like Memphis and Arkansas that recruited him hardest saw the same profile: a three-down, no-nonsense back who raises the floor of a running back room.