The Legend Bey saga may be close to wrapping up soon, based on new intel that Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman shared on an episode of The Inside Scoop with Josh Newberg on Sunday. The report suggests that Bey is actively pursuing an exit from Tennessee, which could lead to him signing with Ohio State.
Bey, a four-star athlete in the 2026 recruiting class, originally committed to Tennessee over the summer. He then flipped his commitment to Ohio State on Nov. 10, but re-flipped to Tennessee and signed with the Vols on early signing day, Dec. 3. BuckNuts, 247’s Ohio State site, reported on Dec. 4 that Bey wanted to sign with Ohio State but was met with resistance from his mother, who wanted him at Tennessee. Since he was only 17 years old at the time of the signing, he needed his mother to sign off on that.
Bey will turn 18 on Christmas Eve, but it sounds like things might be trending back towards the Buckeyes early. Spiegelman’s report on Sunday is one of the big pieces to that puzzle.
“At the moment, yes,” Spiegelman said about whether Bey was still with Tennessee on Sunday. “They have requested their letter of release from Tennessee and they are waiting for Tennessee to confirm this. This could come as early as today, as tomorrow. This is in the works, Josh. You know what? Whether it was his mother or somebody else who forged his signature, Tennessee got a signature on national signing day. They got the flip done at the buzzer; however, it does look like they are going to get out of this. This is going to be another flip, potentially, in the works for Legend Bey between Tennessee and, what we’re assuming, is Ohio State.”
While Bey’s recruitment seemingly came down to Tennessee and Ohio State in the end with the flips, Spiegelman does note that Texas and Texas A&M, teams from his home state, have been making a push.
“Now, Texas and Texas A&M both really coveted Legend Bey, one of the best athletes in the state of Texas for this cycle, but Carlos Locklyn, Ryan Day, and company were steering clear in this recruitment,” Spiegelman said. “They pulled off the flip before signing day (Nov. 10) and they are working very hard to make sure he’s back in the fold.”
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Whether Tennessee grants the release or not, Spiegelman’s intel does suggest that Josh Heupel and his staff have been working hard to keep Bey in the Vols’ 2026 signing class.
“Yeah, of course,” Spiegelman stated when asked if Tennessee had been speaking with Bey. “They got the signature. They want him to be a Tennessee Vol. They won a really competitive recruitment during his official visits when he was between Tennessee and Texas A&M. And, as we know, they certainly won over Mom in this recruitment. Mom was very excited about Legend’s future in Knoxville and Rocky Top. But there’s a lot of change going on, and I think that the official visit to Columbus and the push from Carlos Locklyn, who was his lead recruiter when he was with the (Oregon) Ducks, continued to offer and recruit him when he was in Columbus. Once that visit happened, I think that Legend’s mind was ultimately made up. Maybe not for everyone in his family, but certainly, I expect Ohio State to eventually win this battle.”
Spiegelman also added in the interview that he expects Tennessee to grant him his release, based on the intel that he has been receiving.
Since his flip and sign with Tennessee, things have been unusual for Bey’s process. On Dec. 4, the day after he signed, Bey put out and the deleted a cryptic tweet about a disagreement between him and his family about where he would attend school.
“Good Afternoon, I was just recently logged out of my IG and probably will be logged out of this Account as well by my older brother who has access to my account because, I won’t sign to the school him and my mother wants,” Bey posted before deleting.
On Dec. 12, Bey put out a series of workout photos on his Instagram in bright red Ohio State gear, with the caption, “Imma do my own thing.”
We’re still waiting for the next step in Bey’s process, but Spiegelman sounds confident in his intel and his expectations that the four-star prospect will not end up with the Volunteers. Even if he does stay signed, he could always just enter the transfer portal in early January.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee Football recruiting coverage.
Check out Spiegelman’s full report on The Inside Scoop below:
