Tennessee brought in the highest-recruited wide receiver in this year’s high school class when it flipped five-star TK Keys from LSU, but his first season in Knoxville has come with limited run.
Through four games, Keys has logged 26 snaps against Furman, four at Georgia Tech, 22 against Kennesaw State and six versus Texas. Against Power Four opponents, that works out to an average of just five snaps per game. He has caught four passes for 41 yards and a touchdown this season, though he was held without a stat against Georgia Tech and Texas.
For now, Keys is still behind returning starters Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley in Tennessee’s receiver rotation. He’s also in the mix for the third spot, where Radarious Jackson has been taking most of the snaps and Travis Smith Jr. has been the next option off the bench.
Even with the slow start, Tennessee still expects to use the freshman more. Wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Kelsey Pope said the focus is on getting Keys to play with immediate urgency once he enters the game.
“TK is obviously talented,” Pope said. “For him, it’s just understanding what type of urgency that you got to play with.
At this level, it’s a one-score game 90% of the game this past week. And for freshmen, it’s hard for them to understand at any moment that game could flip and change, good or bad.
And so my urgency and my focus, it has to be on point. Like a lot of times when you don’t start, and you come in the game, everybody else’s intensity is already high.
And so when I come in, there’s really no time to get myself going or get in a rhythm.
“So you got to kinda come in like almost a fighter pilot. Once you get in that plane, it’s time to go, anything can happen.
I’m either shooting at people, or I’m getting shot. And so for him, a continuous sense of urgency every single snap.
Those are things we focus on in practice. He’s doing a good job of giving himself a chance.
But TK’s going to play more. We’ve talked about it, he knows that.
And I think he’s going to be ready when that time, when that opportunity comes.”
There aren’t any more nonconference games left for Keys to ease into things. Tennessee has eight games remaining, and every one of them comes against SEC competition.
The next one is Auburn in Knoxville on Saturday, with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.
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Brandon also did not appear on Tennessees initial SEC Student Athlete Availability Report for the upcoming Auburn game, which points to the staff expecting him to be available. Josh Heupel added to that optimism by confirming Brandon was healthy and ready to play, a reassuring update for a Tennessee team that can ill afford another setback at quarterback as conference play keeps tightening. [Read more 🡒]