Brian Kelly and LSU Tigers desperately trying to hold on as their grip on elite five star recruit continues to slowly slip away

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By Travis May | Last updated Jul 14, 2025 12:53 AM ET

Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers are currently sitting pretty with their 2026 recruiting class heading into the 2025 college football season, but there may be trouble brewing.

There are still plenty opportunities for LSU to win a few more recruiting battles before the season kicks off, but unfortunately there's one elite five star recruit that continues to slowly slip away as a likely flip candidate. And the worst part? LSU fans are likely going to have to wait a long time to find out whether he's actually going to stay committed or not.

Tristen Keys may actually flip away from LSU Tigers and Brian Kelly

For those who may have missed it, Tristen Keys is an elite five star wide receiver talent who has risen quickly over the last year from "decent four star" to the number one overall consensus pass catcher in the 2026 recruiting class. He committed to Brian Kelly and the LSU Tigers back in March, but less than a month after that noise began to surface that he may flip.

That buzz has not slowed at all over the last few months either. Since March he's taken a number of unofficial visits with several programs (including in-state Ole Miss). He also decided to take official visits with Miami, Texas A&M, Auburn, Tennessee, and Alabama despite already being "committed" to the LSU Tigers.

Rivals' @ChadSimmons_ gives the latest on LSU commit Tristen Keys as the Tigers try to fend off other programs pushing for the nation's No. 1 WR

Intel: https://t.co/pjwU2vyySG pic.twitter.com/uz6crLLC1M
— Rivals (@Rivals) July 13, 2025

Nearly every school just mentioned still finds themselves involved in Keys' recruitment as the season is set to kick off in about a month. Keys isn't in any hurry to announce a potential flip either. He's shared multiple times this summer (and again this week with multiple sources apparently) that he will be visiting games in-person at multiple schools he's still considering.

This is obviously not great news for LSU fans. And if the Tigers start to lose some games this fall the pressure really may begin to ramp up on this recruitment.

The good news is that the wide receiver position looks pretty set in the short term (at least this year) thanks to the transfer of star wide receivers Barion Brown (Kentucky) and Nic Anderson (Oklahoma). However, both of those transfers, returning veteran Aaron Anderson, and a couple other LSU wide receivers might all be gone after this season.

That means LSU could be replacing every single starter and primary depth contributor at the position next offseason. The team does have some intriguing freshmen coming in, but having a five star true freshman like Tristen Keys to lean on could prove extremely crucial to continued offensive success in 2026. If he flips? LSU might be in trouble. Tigers fans just need to pray Brian Kelly and his staff find a way to hold on here.

We'll be back with more LSU Tigers coverage here at A to Z Sports soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!

And if you want to see why it's so important that the LSU Tigers don't lose Tristen Keys just watch some of the special plays he made last season in the highlights below.

This article first appeared on A to Z Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: