There's one aspect of 5-star WR Tristen Keys' flip from LSU to Tennessee that says a lot about the Vols' coaching staff

The Tennessee Vols pulled of a huge move on the recruiting trail on Thursday by flipping 2026 five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys from the LSU Tigers.

Keys, who is rated as the No. 1 wide receiver in the nation, had been committed to LSU since March.

Tennessee, however, never gave up in their pursuit of Keys, leading to his decision to decommit from LSU on Thursday.

The Vols always had some momentum in this recruiting battle -- even after he committed to LSU in March. That's why it's not a shock that Tennessee ended up coming out on top in this recruiting battle.

Unsurprisingly, rival fans are already suggesting that Keys flipped his commitment solely due to the NIL factor (Keys has had an NIL deal with Adidas for several months, and Tennessee recently announced that the program is moving to Adidas starting in 2026).

"From a recruiting standpoint, yeah, the Adidas thing is there, and I don't think you discount the Adidas thing," said VolQuest's Brent Hubbs Friday during an appearance on 104.5 The Zone's Ramon and Will. "But I think it's really an injustice to say -- I know people around the country, LSU folks and everybody else, is just going to say it was all Adidas and NIL-bought and everything was through Adidas. That's unfair to (UT wide receivers coach) Kelsey Pope. That's unfair to the work Tennessee put in with their collective, with Kelsey, and with the relationships they built (with Keys). That's unfair to (Vols QB commit) Faizon Brandon."

"You got to give Kelsey Pope and some Tennessee guys credit for the work that they put in over the last eight months, nine months recruiting this guy," added Hubbs. "Because they stayed in it with their relationships."

Keys confirmed in an interview with On3 that Tennessee won him over because they "never gave up".

The talented five-star wide receiver also pointed out to On3 that LSU "did nothing wrong".

To me, that's the most important quote from Keys. The fact that LSU -- one of the biggest brands in college football when it comes to wide receivers -- didn’t screw this recruitment up, but simply lost the battle to Tennessee because of relationships, says a lot about the UT coaching staff’s ability to recruit.

There's no doubt that Adidas was involved in this decision to some extent. But Keys doesn't flip from LSU to Tennessee without the incredible effort from the Vols' coaching staff. That's where this recruiting battle was won. And that should give Vols fans a lot of confidence moving forward that Tennessee's coaching staff can sustain elite recruiting success for years to come.