The Tristen Keys update finally came in after months of everyone waiting on it. In some bad news for Brian Kelly, the 5-star wideout is going to take his talents to Tennessee football after he's done with high school. Yup, he flipped to the Vols in the biggest recruiting win of the year for Josh Heupel.
The thought of Keys and Faizon Brandon making plays together in the future has everyone in Knoxville excited. Oh, and for those of you who care about the recruiting rankings, his decision has been made even better. Prior to the Keys' commitment, Tennessee had the No. 11 class in the country for 2026. Now, Heupel and his staff have made a big jump into the Top 10, currently checking in at No. 8:
Tennessee pulls off Tristen Keys flips in biggest splash of the 2026 cycle
Tennessee now holds the No. 8 recruiting class in the country after the Tristen Keys news. Just awesome #GBO https://t.co/ZTthFCCu3T pic.twitter.com/Hq8saGu5OY
— All For Tennessee (@allfortennessee) August 28, 2025
Tennessee football landed Tristen Keys and now holds the No. 8 recruiting class in the country
You've got to give Tennessee credit for pulling off such a splash like this. Specifically, assistant Kelsey Pope continues to be an ace recruiter, as he ran the point with Keys. The Mississippi product becomes the fourth 5-star Tennessee commit, joining Brandon, Gabriel Osenda and Salesi Moa.
It's hard to put into words exactly how program-changing of a verbal this is. Keys is widely considered a generational talent and he's ranked the No. 1 wideout in the country by multiple recruiting services. With Brandon being the No. 1 QB, it only adds to the excitement for the two of them to work together.
Throughout his recruitment, Keys picked up 33 offers and he was being chased by teams across the country. He committed to LSU in March, but he started setting up visits shortly after that. Teams involved in his process despite him giving Kelly his verbal were Tennessee, Texas A&M and Miami.
The 6-2.5, 180-pounder took officials to all of those schools, with his June 13 trip to Knoxville of course being an eye-opening one for him. Brandon was working overtime in trying to change his mind during that visit. Little did we know those efforts would pay off more than two months later. Getting Keys on board is enormous for the Vols and it gives Heupel an extra reason to smile before the season-opener with Syracuse gets here.