Josh Heupel didn’t hide his enthusiasm when Tristen “TK” Keys came up at SEC Media Days on Monday.
The Tennessee head coach was asked about the freshman receiver and gave a detailed rundown of why the Vols are so high on him after landing him in last August’s recruiting flip from LSU. Keys, a five-star wideout, committed to Tennessee before the season and signed with the Vols a few months later, finishing as the second-highest rated signee in Tennessee’s 2026 class on both 247Sports and Rivals.
Rivals’ Industry Rankings had Keys at No. 15 overall in the 2026 class, No. 2 among wide receivers, and No. 1 in Mississippi.
“I think he came in and went to work immediately,” Heupel said. “High-level recruit with high-level athletic traits.
I think the way he’s gone about his work has garnered trust and respect from his teammates. A guy that’s continually growing.
Physically, his size, his speed, change of direction, acceleration, the fundamental and technical traits we’re asking of that position and his overall football understanding, specifically inside of the scope of what we’re doing offensively. Tremendous athlete that competes at a really high level.
Really excited that we get an opportunity to compete and get better during the course of training camp.”
Keys got an early look in Tennessee’s spring camp as an enrollee, and the buzz around him started there. Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle pointed to his “natural skill set” while also making clear that the freshman was putting in the work to earn trust in the offense.
“He’s a guy that right when you see him, you can tell he’s got a natural skill set,” Tennessee OC Joey Halzle said of Keys during the spring. “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.”
Tennessee’s receiver room has some openings, too. Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews are back from last year’s starting group, but Chris Brazzell is gone to the NFL, leaving an outside spot up for grabs. Travis Smith Jr., Radarious Jackson and Keys are the three main names in that mix, and all three should see chances during the season even if they don’t end up starting.
Smith and Jackson are second-year receivers who were four-star prospects and saw some action as freshmen, though injuries got in the way.
With fall training camp coming up, Keys is one of the most intriguing names to watch in Knoxville.
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