Tennessee football’s spring camp concludes this Saturday with the annual Orange and White Game. For the Vols’ stacked class of freshmen, it’ll also be the first time the group gets to compete in front of fans at Neyland Stadium.
It’s also a chance to continue to prove to the coaching staff that they’re ready to play as true freshmen. If you’re planning on attending the game, here are five freshmen worth watching. And, no, I’m not including five-star quarterback Faizon Brandon, because that’s just too obvious.
Let me also clarify: This is not a ranking of the freshmen. It’s five players worth noting, given future expectations and position battles.
WR – TK Keys
Tennessee pulled off a heist late in the 2026 cycle, flipping five-star wide receiver TK Keys from LSU to the Vols. While one of the outside spots will surely be manned by Mike Matthews, he could be in the mix for the other job, along with Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr.
Keys was banged up to start spring camp, but opted to work through it to not miss valuable reps. It’s unclear how much he’ll be doing at the Orange and White Game, but he’s certainly someone worth watching whenever he does step foot on the field.
“Tristen, from a readiness standpoint and a preparation standpoint, he’s been as good of a freshman as I’ve been around,” Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope said. “He’s competitive. He cares. He’s a sponge. He wants to go over those things. He almost sometimes wants to know too much. You’ve got to slow him down because he just wants to take in all the information at once, which can be harmful sometimes for freshmen. He’s been really good, he’s in the building every time that you need him to be, he’s in the building next to you, he’s coming in early, he’s staying late. From a preparation standpoint, he’s serious about what he’s doing and where he’s trying to get to.”
OL – Gabriel Osenda
Along with Brandon and Keys, offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda is the other five-star committed. Unlike David Sanders Jr., the five-star tackle the Vols signed the previous cycle, Osenda isn’t expected to be a day-one starter, though. Instead, it’ll likely be Sanders at left tackle and LSU transfer Ory Williams at right tackle.
This gives Osenda some time to adjust to the college level and work on his technique while also putting on college-level muscle. That also means this could be one of the limited times we get to see him in action this season.
“As far as Gabe and Kamari (Blair) specifically, man, they, they are dialied in,” Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee said. “They take great notes, they work at it every day, they have a great attitude, they want to get better at the things that you ask. I’ve been really, really pleased with both of them. And they make a good young bunch.”
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S – Joel Wyatt
Tennessee has a unicorn of an athlete at safety this year. In-state and four-star recruit Joel Wyatt has the frame to play linebacker, LEO, wide receiver or really wherever he wants to on the field. However, he wants to play safety, and the Vols are more than willing to see what that will look like.
While it could be tough for him to crack his way into a large snap load as a true freshman, he could still certainly be a part of the rotation at safety. If he performs well, it could lead to a bunch of hype heading into the following season, as well.
“I’ve been around this kind of guy,” Tennessee co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach Anthony Poindexter said. “Most of the time when people see guys like this, “Oh, he got to be a linebacker.” He’s not a linebacker. He’s a safety. He can move like one. He can run like one. He’s just young. He’s like all those young players. They got to learn the system, learn how we practice, learn how to be in college. But I’ve been impressed with him. I’ve been impressed with Jowell Combay and Luke Thompson. They’re all doing a great job.”
TE – Luca Wolf
Luca Wolf may not be a very highly-rated prospect, just a three-star across the board, but he has the chance to work his way up into snaps as a freshman. Ethan Davis will start and play the majority of tight end snaps, but the group behind him isn’t set.
Dasaahn Brame, a sophomore, is expected to be the second guy on the field, but he has a smaller frame. He’s working to get better in the core, but other options, such as Trent Thomas or Cole Harrison, may be better.
If Wolf can prove to be reliable as a blocker and a strong route runner as a freshman, then the international prospect could find his way onto the field early.
“Luca, with him coming from NFL Academy, four years ago, when we took Emmanuel Okoye, where Emmanuel started was a radically different place than where Luca started,” Tennessee tight ends coach Alec Abeln said. “And just the amount that program has improved and what they’ve been able to get done over the last four years, without crowning him too early, through the first block of practices, he operated as good as anybody we’ve ever had in that first spring.”
LB – Brayden Rouse/TJ White
Tennessee’s linebacker room is absolutely loaded. At the top, good luck picking two starters between Arion Carter, Amare Campbell and Edwin Spillman. Behind that trio, it’s going to be a bloodbath deciding who to play between Jadon Perlotte, Jeremiah Telander, Jordan Burns and Jaedon Harmon.
That’s all without naming either highly-ranked freshman, as well. Brayden Rouse and TJ White join as high-four-star recruits, with the ability to make immediate impacts if their names are called.
“They’ve been very, very, very good,” Tennessee linebackers coach William Inge said. “Especially TJ, let’s say from a physical standpoint, to see how his body has evolved has been awesome. Like, we know for him, you have to say whoa instead of sick ’em, because when he comes to hit somebody, he’s coming to hit. Rouse is exactly what we expected as well from a speed and quickness scenario, him being able to play in space. He has been great. I think in our room, he set the fastest mile an hour for all the practices except for yesterday. He’s been awesome, as well.”
