Tennessee’s first day of fall camp brought a quick update on one of the Volunteers’ most intriguing freshmen.
Five-star wide receiver TK Keys was limited in some drills on Wednesday morning, but Josh Heupel said that was only a short-term management move as Tennessee eased him into camp. After practice, the Vols coach made it clear Keys is expected to be available.
“He’ll be full go,” Heupel said. “There were a couple things we just wanted to manage here day one, day two, but he’s ready to go.”
Keys arrives with plenty of buzz after being ranked by 247 as the nation’s top wide receiver. The same service had him as the No. 12 recruit in the country, the No. 1 receiver and the No. 1 player from Mississippi. He was originally committed to LSU before flipping to Tennessee.
Heupel said Keys was able to get back on the field during the final stretch of spring ball after dealing with a high school injury, and the freshman made an impression right away.
“The last third of spring ball, we were able to get him on the field coming off of his high school injury. High-level recruit, but came in, competed extremely hard,” Heupel said about Keys.
“He pushed hard every day to learn what we’re doing offensively, where he felt comfortable, so his traits could take over. He’s grown fundamentally - releases, being able to sync and get out of routes, attacking the football.
But a high-level player. He’s extremely loose.
I’m excited to see him go compete and go earn a job.”
That job won’t come easy. Keys is entering a crowded receiver room and will be fighting for snaps alongside sophomores Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr., as well as Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews. There should be opportunities early, but Heupel has typically preferred a tighter rotation at the position, with just three or four receivers handling most of the work in games.
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