University of Tennessee Athletics
#RockyTop26: Vols Surge On National Signing Day For Best Class of Heupel Era
December 03, 2025 | Football
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football surged to its best signing class of the Josh Heupel era, as the Volunteers secured a top 10 class by welcoming 28 new prospects Wednesday, the first day of the early period.
Tennessee signed 19 defensive players, eight offensive players and one specialist to form a Class of 2026 that was ranked No. 7 by both Rivals and the 247Sports Composite as of 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
The Vols inked three five-star prospects highlighted by quarterback Faizon Brandon (Greensboro, North Carolina), wide receiver TK Keys (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) and offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda out of the Baylor School in Chattanooga. Keys is widely considered the No. 1 wide receiver in the country and committed to the Vols in August.
Brandon gave Tennessee the top prospect in the state of North Carolina for the second straight year, while the commitment of Keys secured the state of Mississippi's top recruit for the Vols. Heupel's staff also, most importantly, emphasized the Volunteer State, signing five of Tennessee's top seven prospects, including the No. 1 defensive player in Joel Wyatt.
"I think our staff did a great job here in state," Heupel said. "From the moment I got here I said it was important for us to go recruit it the right way. It doesn't mean that we take every player, but that we recruited the right way."
Heupel's staff closed strong with four flips, including highly-touted athlete Legend Bey of Heartland, Texas, right before Wednesday afternoon's press conference, as well as a slew of talented defensive linemen.
"Legend on the video he is dynamic, special playmaker with the ball in his hands," Heupel said. "(I) got a chance to watch him live and in-person too and he is such a unique tool. His skill-set having played quarterback, the command, the presence that he has back there, he throws the ball really extremely well in-person. As a playmaker and the ability to be involved out in space, perimeter screen, the ability to go up in high point balls, he's extremely loose. He's a guy that can be used in the return game as well. So, just a dynamic tool that we have the opportunity to add to the offensive arsenal."
For complete profiles on the Class of 2026, visit UTsports.com/rockytop26. Quotes from Heupel's press conference is below.
Josh Heupel Press Conference | 12.3.25
Opening Statement…
"Good afternoon. This is always a huge day for the future of our program. So excited about the guys that we have signed. I want to thank all of our organization. There's so many people that go into it. It starts with our personnel department, our coaches developing relationships, being out on the road. It takes our administration's support, it's professors on campus, certainly our content team. Everybody that goes into such a pivotal role in the recruiting process, so I want to thank them but I really should've started with I want to thank the families, the coaches and the recruits themselves for entrusting us with their future, their sons future, one of their players futures, the chance that we have an opportunity to play such a vital role in them chasing their goals and dreams. I want to thank them for all their efforts but also just entrusting us with them. I think our staff did a great job here in state, from the moment I got here I said it was important for us to go recruit it the right way. It doesn't mean that we take every player, but that we recruited the right way, able to sign the top defensive player in the state, Joel Wyatt, top offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda. Thought our staff did a great job here inside the state of Tennessee, and the bordering states as well.
Again, we went into North Carolina and got the top player there. Just really proud of what we did. The ability to add great length athleticism on the defensive side of the ball, I think 13 guys that are public at this point. Hopefully we'll have some good news here as the afternoon continues to go on. But adding elite traits, dynamic playmakers on that side of the football, couldn't be more excited about what we've done there. The afternoon has a chance to trickle in and bring in some more guys, hopefully you guys stay tuned but really excited about what we did in this class. So, I'll open it up to some questions from y'all."
On the signing of Legend Bey and what Kelsey Pope was able to do in this class with the receivers…
"Yeah, Legend (Bey) on the video he is dynamic, special playmaker, ball in his hands. I got a chance to watch him live and in-person too and he is such a unique tool. His skill-set having played quarterback, the command, the presence that he has back there, throws the ball really extremely well in-person. As a playmaker and the ability to be involved out in space, perimeter screen, the ability to go up in high point balls, he's extremely loose. He's a guy that can be used in the return game as well. So, just a dynamic tool that we have the opportunity to add to the offensive arsenal. Kelsey (Pope), you know early on our personnel department researching him, and then Kelsey got a chance to watch him really early in the process. We got on him extremely early, and I think that's one of the keys of ultimately getting him. Kelsey did a great job of developing a relationship with Legend, his family, they had a great experience up here and through the stretch run right here we were hoping to get some good news, and Kelsey certainly did a great job of flipping him back."
On Faizon's (Brandon) impact on the offensive class…
"First of all, Faizon's a great player. We had an opportunity to watch him on the basketball court, extremely explosive, great touch, had great presence, and you know, bodies in motion. You see that on the football tape, obviously as well. He's played at an elite level for a long time. His body continued to develop. He's got a great mind. He's extremely quick minded. You combine all those factors, really excited about having him in the quarterback room and competing next fall. Anytime you're able to get a quarterback at that level and is made of the right things, he's able to develop relationships with guys and help attract them, and he certainly did that in this recruiting class, really on both sides of the football."
On identifying Brayden Rouse in early recruiting…
"Long athlete that is continuing to physically develop, and we recognize all the traits, really early on in the process, unbelievable family. Dad's coaching, and his football IQ has continued to grow. Really unique skill set. You look at him playing on the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver, tight end. Physically, he's continued to develop. He's played on all three levels of the defense as well and every time that we're talking to him, on a given game week, he's moving somewhere else in the structure of it. He's got great athleticism, change of direction. I think his body's going to explode when it gets to college, and he's focused on one sport and in the weight room every single day. Just a high character, highly athletic individual that's, I think, going to develop into a really special player."
On recruiting players from Canada like Jamyan Theodore, Gabriel Osenda, and Carter Gooden…
"South Dakota was annexed by Canada a few years back, so it was part of our curriculum in school, actually, so I didn't get much of a laugh out of you on that one. I do think you've seen more and more guys come down from Canada, typically to private schools, chasing their dreams of playing American football at this level and the three guys that you talked about, you think about the road, the journey that they have to be on to ultimately get to this point. There's so much sacrifice from the families from the kid moving away from home. You know, I think that in some ways eases a transition to college for those guys but you know that they're hungry and desperate to go accomplish their goals and dreams and at the end of the day, that's what you need inside your locker room, inside of your position rooms. All those guys are athletic at their position, have really good traits and guys that have adjusted and grown inside of the landscape of football really quickly."
On why recruits love the culture of the program before getting to Knoxville…
"I think it starts with who we are, our consistency. Throughout the recruitment, I think parlays itself into who we are every single day into the building with our guys. Our recruits are going to find that out from our players. You put all those factors together, and then our fanbase, and this campus, but our fanbase, the experiences they have with them. That can be at a game. That can be while they are here going to a basketball game. It can be a fan that is at one of their high school games that's passionate about Tennessee and knows that a local player is getting recruited by us. But then, the gameday experiences they have. They know this is college football at its best and recognize who we are and what we are about and the continued growth of where we're going. You put all those factors together, and we've been able to recruit the right type of player but the right type of kid here to Rocky Top."
On if recruiting is shifting back to being about relationships over NIL…
"I think it's about all the things that you just talked about, all of the old historical things that were a part of recruiting. When the NIL era began, I don't know, five years ago, whatever it might have been, it changed it. I think things have slowed down a little bit. There aren't as many dramatic changes inside the landscape of it. There's certainly still some things that college football is navigating. But, certainly, I think the relationships, who you are, the product that you have, what they're going to play, and how they're going to develop is really important."
On Kelsey Pope's involvement in the signing of TK Keys…
"Kelsey did a great job with him, our staff did with TK and his family. Dynamic wide receiver. Super loose at the line of scrimmage. Has the ability to stretch it vertically but has ball-in -hand value as well. 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."
On how perspective changes with local recruits, like Tyreek King, as they enter the program…
"Tyreek is another one at the wide receiver position that is explosive, dynamic. His short area acceleration is really rare and unique. Tyreek, it's been a long recruitment. I was talking with him last night. And, two years ago, he came by the hotel on a Friday night where he was off. And, it feels like it was just yesterday, and it feels like it was a decade ago all at the same time. Tyreek – great player, great family. Being local, he understood what it's like inside of that stadium. I think also it's different for the local kids, and that all of his classmates at his high school, all of his extended family, and everybody that he's grown up with are super fans of Tennessee. I think that's important that you have those guys inside of your locker room because they feel it. They live it, 365 days out of the year. I can't wait to get Tyreek here in late spring and start going to work with him. I think he's got a great future in front of him."
On the balance between traditional recruiting and the portal…
"It's different. This cycle, just the timing of the portal in general, I think it's a positive. For us, we'll look at what we've signed in this class, what we have coming back and then attack the portal. How we continue to grow our roster to be ready to go compete and win a championship."
On if there are any obvious needs as he begins to look at the portal…
"I wouldn't say anything as of right now, but certainly here over the coming days and weeks, we will look hard at that. We're finishing up exit interviews with our current players now and then we will be ready to attack that when it comes here."
On what type of player Hezekiah Harris is and what Coach Chop (Levorn Harbin) did to flip him…
"Just scratching the surface of what he's going to be. Super athletic, long, rangy, can play in space, can rush the passer. Chop (Levorn Harbin) did a great job, just continuing to be consistent with Hezekiah and his family. They were able to get up here multiple times, had a great official visit, but all of his experiences, we got him up here in May for our May event. Just super excited to get Hezekiah here. He is just beginning his football journey. I say that in a positive way. When he gets in the weight room consistently and isn't on the basketball court or running around in the spring, I think his body's going to really take off. I couldn't be more excited having him and as you said, Coach Chop and our staff did an elite job with him."
On Alex Golesh taking the Auburn job and what it will be like playing against him next year…
"I'm excited for him. Obviously, he did a great job here, did a great job at USF. It'll be like playing Mississippi State where you got one of your former guys that's on the other sideline. Got a couple of them inside this league, excited for both of those guys."
Tennessee signed 19 defensive players, eight offensive players and one specialist to form a Class of 2026 that was ranked No. 7 by both Rivals and the 247Sports Composite as of 9 p.m. Wednesday night.
The Vols inked three five-star prospects highlighted by quarterback Faizon Brandon (Greensboro, North Carolina), wide receiver TK Keys (Hattiesburg, Mississippi) and offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda out of the Baylor School in Chattanooga. Keys is widely considered the No. 1 wide receiver in the country and committed to the Vols in August.
Brandon gave Tennessee the top prospect in the state of North Carolina for the second straight year, while the commitment of Keys secured the state of Mississippi's top recruit for the Vols. Heupel's staff also, most importantly, emphasized the Volunteer State, signing five of Tennessee's top seven prospects, including the No. 1 defensive player in Joel Wyatt.
"I think our staff did a great job here in state," Heupel said. "From the moment I got here I said it was important for us to go recruit it the right way. It doesn't mean that we take every player, but that we recruited the right way."
Heupel's staff closed strong with four flips, including highly-touted athlete Legend Bey of Heartland, Texas, right before Wednesday afternoon's press conference, as well as a slew of talented defensive linemen.
"Legend on the video he is dynamic, special playmaker with the ball in his hands," Heupel said. "(I) got a chance to watch him live and in-person too and he is such a unique tool. His skill-set having played quarterback, the command, the presence that he has back there, he throws the ball really extremely well in-person. As a playmaker and the ability to be involved out in space, perimeter screen, the ability to go up in high point balls, he's extremely loose. He's a guy that can be used in the return game as well. So, just a dynamic tool that we have the opportunity to add to the offensive arsenal."
For complete profiles on the Class of 2026, visit UTsports.com/rockytop26. Quotes from Heupel's press conference is below.
Josh Heupel Press Conference | 12.3.25
Opening Statement…
"Good afternoon. This is always a huge day for the future of our program. So excited about the guys that we have signed. I want to thank all of our organization. There's so many people that go into it. It starts with our personnel department, our coaches developing relationships, being out on the road. It takes our administration's support, it's professors on campus, certainly our content team. Everybody that goes into such a pivotal role in the recruiting process, so I want to thank them but I really should've started with I want to thank the families, the coaches and the recruits themselves for entrusting us with their future, their sons future, one of their players futures, the chance that we have an opportunity to play such a vital role in them chasing their goals and dreams. I want to thank them for all their efforts but also just entrusting us with them. I think our staff did a great job here in state, from the moment I got here I said it was important for us to go recruit it the right way. It doesn't mean that we take every player, but that we recruited the right way, able to sign the top defensive player in the state, Joel Wyatt, top offensive lineman Gabriel Osenda. Thought our staff did a great job here inside the state of Tennessee, and the bordering states as well.
Again, we went into North Carolina and got the top player there. Just really proud of what we did. The ability to add great length athleticism on the defensive side of the ball, I think 13 guys that are public at this point. Hopefully we'll have some good news here as the afternoon continues to go on. But adding elite traits, dynamic playmakers on that side of the football, couldn't be more excited about what we've done there. The afternoon has a chance to trickle in and bring in some more guys, hopefully you guys stay tuned but really excited about what we did in this class. So, I'll open it up to some questions from y'all."
On the signing of Legend Bey and what Kelsey Pope was able to do in this class with the receivers…
"Yeah, Legend (Bey) on the video he is dynamic, special playmaker, ball in his hands. I got a chance to watch him live and in-person too and he is such a unique tool. His skill-set having played quarterback, the command, the presence that he has back there, throws the ball really extremely well in-person. As a playmaker and the ability to be involved out in space, perimeter screen, the ability to go up in high point balls, he's extremely loose. He's a guy that can be used in the return game as well. So, just a dynamic tool that we have the opportunity to add to the offensive arsenal. Kelsey (Pope), you know early on our personnel department researching him, and then Kelsey got a chance to watch him really early in the process. We got on him extremely early, and I think that's one of the keys of ultimately getting him. Kelsey did a great job of developing a relationship with Legend, his family, they had a great experience up here and through the stretch run right here we were hoping to get some good news, and Kelsey certainly did a great job of flipping him back."
On Faizon's (Brandon) impact on the offensive class…
"First of all, Faizon's a great player. We had an opportunity to watch him on the basketball court, extremely explosive, great touch, had great presence, and you know, bodies in motion. You see that on the football tape, obviously as well. He's played at an elite level for a long time. His body continued to develop. He's got a great mind. He's extremely quick minded. You combine all those factors, really excited about having him in the quarterback room and competing next fall. Anytime you're able to get a quarterback at that level and is made of the right things, he's able to develop relationships with guys and help attract them, and he certainly did that in this recruiting class, really on both sides of the football."
On identifying Brayden Rouse in early recruiting…
"Long athlete that is continuing to physically develop, and we recognize all the traits, really early on in the process, unbelievable family. Dad's coaching, and his football IQ has continued to grow. Really unique skill set. You look at him playing on the offensive side of the ball, wide receiver, tight end. Physically, he's continued to develop. He's played on all three levels of the defense as well and every time that we're talking to him, on a given game week, he's moving somewhere else in the structure of it. He's got great athleticism, change of direction. I think his body's going to explode when it gets to college, and he's focused on one sport and in the weight room every single day. Just a high character, highly athletic individual that's, I think, going to develop into a really special player."
On recruiting players from Canada like Jamyan Theodore, Gabriel Osenda, and Carter Gooden…
"South Dakota was annexed by Canada a few years back, so it was part of our curriculum in school, actually, so I didn't get much of a laugh out of you on that one. I do think you've seen more and more guys come down from Canada, typically to private schools, chasing their dreams of playing American football at this level and the three guys that you talked about, you think about the road, the journey that they have to be on to ultimately get to this point. There's so much sacrifice from the families from the kid moving away from home. You know, I think that in some ways eases a transition to college for those guys but you know that they're hungry and desperate to go accomplish their goals and dreams and at the end of the day, that's what you need inside your locker room, inside of your position rooms. All those guys are athletic at their position, have really good traits and guys that have adjusted and grown inside of the landscape of football really quickly."
On why recruits love the culture of the program before getting to Knoxville…
"I think it starts with who we are, our consistency. Throughout the recruitment, I think parlays itself into who we are every single day into the building with our guys. Our recruits are going to find that out from our players. You put all those factors together, and then our fanbase, and this campus, but our fanbase, the experiences they have with them. That can be at a game. That can be while they are here going to a basketball game. It can be a fan that is at one of their high school games that's passionate about Tennessee and knows that a local player is getting recruited by us. But then, the gameday experiences they have. They know this is college football at its best and recognize who we are and what we are about and the continued growth of where we're going. You put all those factors together, and we've been able to recruit the right type of player but the right type of kid here to Rocky Top."
On if recruiting is shifting back to being about relationships over NIL…
"I think it's about all the things that you just talked about, all of the old historical things that were a part of recruiting. When the NIL era began, I don't know, five years ago, whatever it might have been, it changed it. I think things have slowed down a little bit. There aren't as many dramatic changes inside the landscape of it. There's certainly still some things that college football is navigating. But, certainly, I think the relationships, who you are, the product that you have, what they're going to play, and how they're going to develop is really important."
On Kelsey Pope's involvement in the signing of TK Keys…
"Kelsey did a great job with him, our staff did with TK and his family. Dynamic wide receiver. Super loose at the line of scrimmage. Has the ability to stretch it vertically but has ball-in -hand value as well. 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."
On how perspective changes with local recruits, like Tyreek King, as they enter the program…
"Tyreek is another one at the wide receiver position that is explosive, dynamic. His short area acceleration is really rare and unique. Tyreek, it's been a long recruitment. I was talking with him last night. And, two years ago, he came by the hotel on a Friday night where he was off. And, it feels like it was just yesterday, and it feels like it was a decade ago all at the same time. Tyreek – great player, great family. Being local, he understood what it's like inside of that stadium. I think also it's different for the local kids, and that all of his classmates at his high school, all of his extended family, and everybody that he's grown up with are super fans of Tennessee. I think that's important that you have those guys inside of your locker room because they feel it. They live it, 365 days out of the year. I can't wait to get Tyreek here in late spring and start going to work with him. I think he's got a great future in front of him."
On the balance between traditional recruiting and the portal…
"It's different. This cycle, just the timing of the portal in general, I think it's a positive. For us, we'll look at what we've signed in this class, what we have coming back and then attack the portal. How we continue to grow our roster to be ready to go compete and win a championship."
On if there are any obvious needs as he begins to look at the portal…
"I wouldn't say anything as of right now, but certainly here over the coming days and weeks, we will look hard at that. We're finishing up exit interviews with our current players now and then we will be ready to attack that when it comes here."
On what type of player Hezekiah Harris is and what Coach Chop (Levorn Harbin) did to flip him…
"Just scratching the surface of what he's going to be. Super athletic, long, rangy, can play in space, can rush the passer. Chop (Levorn Harbin) did a great job, just continuing to be consistent with Hezekiah and his family. They were able to get up here multiple times, had a great official visit, but all of his experiences, we got him up here in May for our May event. Just super excited to get Hezekiah here. He is just beginning his football journey. I say that in a positive way. When he gets in the weight room consistently and isn't on the basketball court or running around in the spring, I think his body's going to really take off. I couldn't be more excited having him and as you said, Coach Chop and our staff did an elite job with him."
On Alex Golesh taking the Auburn job and what it will be like playing against him next year…
"I'm excited for him. Obviously, he did a great job here, did a great job at USF. It'll be like playing Mississippi State where you got one of your former guys that's on the other sideline. Got a couple of them inside this league, excited for both of those guys."
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