Tennessee football has an offense full of proven pieces, but there are a few spots that could be earned by true freshmen. Along with quarterback Faizon Brandon, fellow five-star freshman TK Keys is also getting early praise.
In the list of SEC freshmen to watch who could become household names in 2026, CBS’ Brad Crawford named Brandon and Keys. For Keys, he’s battling for a job as one of the three starting wide receivers. With the return of Braylon Staley in the slot and Mike Matthews on the outside, Keys will be an option along with second-year receivers Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr.
“There’s proven talent in Knoxville at the wideout spot, and there’s another waiting in the wings to star,” Crawford wrote. “One of the most explosive playmakers in the Vols’ recruiting class as 247Sports’ top-rated wideout this cycle, Keys brings elite speed and natural ball skills to immediately boost Heupel’s up-tempo offense. Keys has the type of big-play potential coaches simply can’t keep off the field, even with Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews back.”
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Keys enters as a five-star recruit and the No. 1 wide receiver recruit in the 2026 class on 247. An LSU flip, he is from Hattiesburg, Mississippi, and finished as the No. 12 player in the cycle.
Now, Keys is preparing for a critical fall camp in which he’s looking to show the coaching staff why he could be a key piece of the offense as a freshman.
“He’s a guy that right when you see him, you can tell he’s got a natural skill set,” Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said in the spring. “He’s got all the tangibles that you want, and he’s just like any young guy that is coming in, he’s extremely talented. He makes plays. You just gotta work the mental side of it to where we can trust him to be where we want to be, and he’s working his butt off to do it. He’s done a great job. But it’s always the young guy thing, and especially with a talented guy that you wanna see on the field. He’s gotta earn the right that we can trust that he’s gonna be where he needs to be, where he’s supposed to be.
“He’s working towards that, but that is the big challenge of take all the little things when you’re not just taking off down the field, and you can go make a great catch, can you be in the right position to block the right guy on the run play that’s coming at you? So that’s the fight that those guys gotta get into.”
Tennessee will return for fall camp in early August. The quarterback battle will take headlines, but there are also spots for grab at wide receiver, on the offensive line and all over the defense.
