‘Vanderbilt just beat them’: 4-star Milton TE picks ‘Dores over UGA, Ohio State

Milton High School tight end Grant Haviland matter-of-factly put a bow on his recruiting process Tuesday afternoon.

The 4-star recruit had taken a series of visits the last two months. When it came time for him to share his choice, he thanked his parents for “all the long car rides” and his coaches and teammates for having his back throughout his recruiting process.

Then he put on a Vanderbilt cap and said “Anchor Down” during his ceremony at the school. He said his decision wound up a close race between Georgia, Ohio State and the Commodores.

“I saw myself at all those schools,” he said. “They were all doing great things. I loved all of those schools. I loved all the coaches and staff at those schools. Vanderbilt just beat them.”

The decision didn’t come down to where Haviland could get on the field first.

“I wouldn’t say that was a major factor,” he said. “I think it was just their vision for me in their offense. They see me making an impact all around the field. They see me being versatile, helping the offense in the run game and then being able to go make a play vertically.”

The 6-foot-5, 235-pound Haviland ranks as the nation’s No. 16 tight end and No. 262 overall prospect for 2027 on Rivals.com. He’s the nation’s No. 13 tight end and the No. 275 overall prospect on the 247Sports Composite.

He’s regarded as an all-around tight end who excels in the run game as an impact blocker. Haviland has also impressed with his toughness. He played in the season opener last year against Buford after not practicing much leading up to the game.

Haviland finished his junior season with 24 catches for 343 yards and four touchdowns. He averaged 14.3 yards per catch.

“He’s a blue-collar and team guy in every sense of the word,” Milton coach Ben Reaves said. “He should’ve caught 50 balls for us last year because he was our best player on the field, but because of some injuries we had to ask him to do some dirty jobs for us. He was going to have to sit on the line for the whole game and just run block for us.

“He was like, ‘Yes, sir’ and ‘Anything for the team, Coach.’ He’s just a blue-collar guy and a true team-first guy. He’s as unselfish as anybody I’ve ever been around when it comes to putting his team first.”

The rising senior has been a part of two state championship teams at Milton. He’s also maintained a 3.9 grade-point average. The academic fit at Vanderbilt made a lot of sense.