Tennessee Football’s pursuit of five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys looks to be continuing. Despite Keys being an LSU commit since March, Josh Heupel and his staff have kept their foot on the gas when it comes to attempting to flip the Mississippi native from the Tigers. A new report on Thursday suggests that the Vols are still in the race heading into the 2025 season.
According to Rivals’ Steve Wiltfong, Tennessee has “momentum” building up.
“Hattiesburg (Miss.) High five-star receiver Tristen Keys has been committed to LSU since March 19,” Wiltfong wrote for Rivals. “However after talking to a couple of sources regarding the recruitment, it’s Tennessee that has the momentum heading into the fall.”
The reports surrounding Keys this summer have been optimistic for Tennessee’s chances to land the blue-chip prospect, but each has come with the caveat that the Tigers feel good about where they stand with their talented commit. That hasn’t changed with Thursday’s report, but Wiltfong’s intel continues to suggest that Tennessee is making a strong push.
“Sources around Baton Rouge have felt good about the recent dialogue with Keys and keeping him in the fold,” Wiltfong wrote. “Sources around Knoxville have always felt good about flipping the No. 1-ranked pass catcher in the land. My intel favors the latter.”
As Wiltfong mentions, Keys is the top overall wide receiver in the 2026 cycle. Rivals’ Industry Rankings have him as the No. 7 player in the class and the No. 1 player from the state of Mississippi, as well.
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The 6-foot-2.5 prospect is a do-it-all type of player on the field. He’s got the ability to create space in the short passing game and take the top off the defense through the long ball down the field. He’s an exciting play waiting to happen, and someone that Tennessee wants to pair up with its highly-touted quarterback recruits in the near future. Keys is a game-wrecking player, through and through.
Rivals has mentioned optimistic news around Tennessee and Tristen Keys a few times this summer. In late July, Chad Simmons reported that Tennessee is viewed as “LSU’s top competition” heading into the season. Then, in early August, Hunter Shelton noted that Tennessee was the team “to watch closely” in the race.
Combine that with Wiltfong’s report on Thursday, and it suggests that Tennessee is ramping up steam as it looks to flip one of the top players in the entire 2026 class.
Shelton’s report in early August did come with the note that LSU had reportedly increased its NIL offer to Keys in an attempt to lock him down in the class. While Tennessee has been getting some good news in terms of the reports, LSU certainly isn’t just sitting on its hands with its top-ranked offensive prospect.
Led by five-star quarterback commit Faizon Brandon, the cornerstone piece of Tennessee’s class, the Vols currently sit at No. 12 in Rivals’ 2026 team rankings. Tennessee has 23 total commits after flipping four-star offensive tackle Kamari Blair from South Carolina last week. Other notable names in the Vols’ class include four-star athlete Salesi Moa, four-star athlete Joel Wyatt, four-star linebacker Brayden Rouse, and four-star linebacker TJ White. Offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda is also a highly-touted player who is committed to Josh Heupel’s Vols.
We’ll have to wait and see whether Keys’ flip to Tennessee becomes a reality, but the latest reports indicate that Heupel and his staff aren’t letting up on his recruitment as the 2025 season begins this weekend.
No. 24 Tennessee will take on Syracuse in the Aflac Kickoff Game from Atlanta, GA, on Saturday afternoon at Noon ET on ABC.
Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for live, on-site coverage of the season-opening game.
