The Tennessee Vols received some very unexpected bad news on the recruiting trail on Wednesday afternoon.
According to On3’s Hayes Fawcett, 2026 five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys committed to the LSU Tigers on Wednesday.
Keys was a top recruiting target for the Volunteers.
This news was unexpected because Tennessee had long been viewed by recruiting analysts as the leader for Keys.
Earlier this week, after taking a recent visit to Tennessee, Keys told On3 that he didn’t officially have a leader yet, but he pointed out the Vols as the team that was going the hardest in his recruiting.
“I haven’t quite found that No. 1 right now,” said Keys ton On3. “I’d say Tennessee is going at it real hard. I’d say Tennessee is going harder than anyone else.”
Another reason that Keys’ commitment to LSU came as a surprise is because 247Sports’ Tom Loy noted last week that Alabama was the program running in second behind Tennessee in this recruiting battle.
“Alabama is the school that I’d list as a very close second,” wrote Loy.
Additionally, Keys previously said that he wasn’t planning to announce his commitment until June or July (after his official visits).
Keys, 6-foot-3/180 lbs from Hattiesburg, MS, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation.
It’s worth noting that Baton Rouge is only 2.5 hours away from Keys’ hometown of Hattiesburg, which could certainly be factor in his decision. It also probably doesn’t hurt that LSU has put several elite wide receivers in the NFL in recent years (Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr).
Keys, 6-foot-3/180 lbs from Hattiesburg, MS, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation.
It’s worth noting that Baton Rouge is only 2.5 hours away from Keys’ hometown of Hattiesburg, which could certainly be factor in his decision. It also probably doesn’t hurt that LSU has put several elite wide receivers in the NFL in recent years (Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Malik Nabers, Brian Thomas Jr).
Tennessee will keep recruiting Keys, but this is certainly a major setback in their pursuit of the talented wide receiver. Flipping him from LSU, a program that has a legitimate claim to being called “wide receiver U”, won’t be easy.
Something else to note about Keys’ decision that could be bad news for the Vols is the fact that he’s very close with 2026 five-star Vols quarterback commit Faizon Brandon.
Brandon has repeatedly said over the last couple of months that his commitment to Tennessee is solid. LSU, however, is one of the programs that’s reportedly “not giving up” in their pursuit of the five-star quarterback.
Recruiting is fluid and cut-throat. Tennessee undoubtedly received a reminder of that on Wednesday.
