You've got to wonder why this keeps happening for Tennessee football. Earlier this year, plenty of Vols fans were up in arms when Faizon Brandon went from a 5-star recruit to a 4-star prospect on Rivals. Brandon is one of the top QBs in the country and 247Sports has him as a 5-star.
Now, there's another future Tennessee playmaker who is losing a bit of love in the rankings. Rivals updated things once again this week and Tristen Keys has gone from the No. 1 wideout in the country to No. 2. Not only that, but he indeed also lost his fifth star. From our chair this, respectfully, doesn't make sense.
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Tristen Keys is now a 4-star Tennessee commit according to Rivals
Keys was once committed to LSU and Tigers fans everywhere were fired up about his future in Baton Rouge. At the time, he indeed was a 5-star commit and the No. 1 WR in the land. Now things change since he's committed to Tennessee and he's going to be Knoxville-bound instead?
Make it make sense. Per Rivals, Auburn commit Jase Mathews is the new No. 1 wide receiver in the country, but Ole Miss is making a strong move to try and flip him. It wouldn't be a surprise at all if Lane Kiffin and the Rebels get that done.
As for Tennessee, people can't wait to see Brandon and Keys make their way to campus in 2026. Both players are ranked the No. 1 players at their respective positions by 247Sports. We're going to go ahead and agree with what 247 has over Rivals.
At the end of the day, stars don't really matter and what does is how these two perform at the next level. Despite that, it's no question a bummer that both Keys and Brandon have been dinged a bit with their ratings out of the blue. Maybe this will serve as motivation for both of them to be even better once they make the move from high school ball to SEC action, which sure would be sweet to see.