2026 Tennessee football preview: TK Keys
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Freshman wide receiver TK Keys enters his first season at Tennessee in 2026.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound freshman enrolled at Tennessee in January and participated in spring football practices. He committed to the Vols on Aug. 28, 2025, flipping his commitment from LSU.
Keys is from Hattiesburg High School in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. 247Sports ranked him as the No. 1 wide receiver in the class and No. 1 player in Mississippi. The Vols offered the 2026 prospect a scholarship on April 2, 2024.
Keys signed a NIL deal with Adidas on June 4, 2025.
Following a spring football practice on March 30, Tennessee pass game coordinator and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope discussed the freshman with the Vols.
“Tristen, from a readiness standpoint and a preparation standpoint, he’s been as good of a freshman as I’ve been around,” Pope said. “He’s competitive, he cares, he’s a sponge, he wants to go over the little things. He almost sometimes wants to know too much, and you’ve got to slow him down because he just wants to take in all the information at once, which can be harmful sometimes to freshmen, but he’s been really good.
“He’s in the building every time that you need him to be, he’s in the building extra, he’s coming in early, he’s staying late, so from a preparation standpoint, he’s serious about what he’s doing and where he’s trying to get to. For us as a staff, we just have to make sure we are intentional with his workload and the physical capabilities we’re putting him under, but he’s coming along. His timeline is ahead of schedule, and we’re looking forward to him getting back here pretty soon.”
Tennessee will kick off its 2026 football season Sept. 5 versus Furman at Neyland Stadium. The season opener is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. EDT (SEC Network+).
The Vols will also host Kennesaw State, Texas, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky and LSU, while playing at Georgia Tech, Arkansas, South Carolina, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt during the 2026 campaign.
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This article originally appeared on Vols Wire: Freshman wide receiver TK Keys enters first season with Vols in 2026
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