Tennessee made one of biggest splashes on the recruiting trail in August when they went to Mississippi and flipped five-star receiver Tristen Keys from LSU. Just two weeks after committing to the Vols, Keys is set to return to Knoxville. Keys is unofficially visiting Tennessee Saturday for the Vols’ rivalry matchup against Georgia according to Volquest’s Austin Price.
The recent commit is a part of not only a major recruiting weekend for Tennessee football but specifically for its receiver room. Vol receiver commits Tyreek King, Salesi Moa and Legend Bey are all visiting this weekend as well as class of 2027 four-stars Kesean Bowman and Dajota Guerrant.
Keys ranks as a five-star recruit and the No. 6 player in the country according to the 247sports composite rankings. The Hattiesburg native also ranks as the top player in the state of Mississippi and the No. 1 receiver in the 2026 recruiting cycle.
More From RTI: ‘Like Herding All-Americans’: Tennessee Baseball Preparing For Massive Recruiting Weekend
The 6-foot-2 receiver committed to LSU in March before he took official visits to Miami, Texas A&M, Tennessee and LSU back in June. Tennessee and Texas A&M were both legit contenders to flip the best prep receiver in the country, but it was Heupel, Kelsey Pope and the Vols that ended up getting the job done.
Pope, Tennessee’s receivers coach, has done a fantastic job helping the Vols put together one of the bets receiver classes in the 2026 cycle. In addition to Keys, Tennessee boasts commitments from Moa (No. 31 player), King (No. 106 player) and Bey (No. 378 player) this cycle.
Keys is one of two consensus five-star commit in the 2026 cycle along with quarterback Faizon Brandon. Tennessee commits Gabriel Osenda (offensive tackle) and Moa are both rated as five-star recruits on at least one recruiting site.
Entering the weekend, Tennessee football’s 2026 recruiting class contains 24 commits and ranks No. 8 nationally and No. 5 in the SEC according to the 247sports team rankings.
