While all eyes are on the quarterback battle taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee football has some other new faces to monitor during spring camp. This includes five-star wide receiver TK Keys as he gets his college career started.
After his second practice in orange and white, offensive coordinator Joey Halzle gave his thoughts on the freshman wideout. He noted that the skillset is there, it’s just about getting comfortable in the offense, so the staff can rely on him.
“He’s a guy that right when you see him, you can tell he’s got a natural skill set,” Halzle said. “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.”
5⭐️ QB Faizon Brandon ➡️ 5⭐️ WR TK Keys pic.twitter.com/9qZ2lkGu39
— Ryan Sylvia (@RyanTSylvia) March 17, 2026
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Keys joins UT alongside two other five-star prospects on 247. Faizon Brandon ranked as the No. 3 player in the country while offensive tackle Gabriel Osenda held onto his five-star status throughout the cycle.
Brandon is now finding a connection with Keys after going through the recruiting process together. He said they’ve only gotten closer since arriving on campus as early enrollees.
“It’s been pretty cool,” Brandon said. “We’re both learning the offense and just seeing him every day after only seeing him a few visits and stuff like that is pretty cool. And me and him, obviously, our bond has gotten stronger than when we were recruits last fall.”
Keys will be in the mix for playtime at outside receiver. Mike Matthews returns as a solidified starter, but the other spot is up for grabs. That could go to Keys or second-year players Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr.
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