Josh Heupel 'really excited' about 5-star WR Tristen Keys signing with Tennessee

Five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys surprised many when he committed to LSU in May. Tennessee was recruiting the five-star prospect as hard as any school in the country at the time. The Vols never gave up on Keys during the cycle, and they were able to flip him away from the Bayou Bengals in August.

“Kelsey (Pope) did a great job with him,” Heupel said of Tennessee flipping Keys on Wednesday. “Our staff did with TK. His family, dynamic wide receiver, super loose at the line of scrimmage. He has the ability to stretch it vertically but it has ball in hand value as well. He has the ability to go attack the football. Dynamic player that is really excited about being here at Tennessee and we’re excited to have him for sure.”

Heupel went on to further talk about Keys’ during his weekly appearance on the Mike Keith Show.

“Yeah, he’s got the ability to be a dynamic playmaker, that’s the simplest way to say it,” Heupel said of Keys. “As a high school wide receiver, he’s really loose and fluid at the line of scrimmage. When he does see press coverage. Got great short-area quickness, the ability to go up and attack the football. He’s got a great catch radius, long arms, but can open up his back hip on a ball back behind him. He is going to be great in the short, the intermediate, in the downfield passing game. Really excited about him.”

Keys told Volquest prior to signing his paperwork this week that he is ready to get to work in Knovxville.

“I am just excited to get there, man,” Keys told Volquest prior to signing. “It has truly been a blessing. This is the position we wanted to be in, and we are here now. I am just ready to take full advantage of the opportunities.”

Keys has been an industry-rated five-star throughout this process, but when he shows up at Tennessee, he knows it is time to put in work to earn a role on the field.

“I feel like I can have a major impact because they can put me on the outside or the inside because I can do both,” Keys said. “You can see what they have been doing with the offense now with three receivers over seven hundred yards. That hasn’t been done since 2020 and is the first time in school history. Seeing that just makes me want to work. It gives me motivation to go out there and be an even better ball player.”