From the outside, it appeared that flipping five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys from his LSU commitment should be the No. 1 priority for Alabama this week. Keys was scheduled to make an official visit to Tuscaloosa on Tuesday with two other prospects, and the fifth of six official visits for the No. 3 overall prospect in the 2026 class.
However, it now seems that internally, Alabama may not be very interested in the 6-foot-3, 180-pound product of Hattiesburg, Mississippi.
In the morning, Chad Simmons of On3 reported that Keys “is no longer expected to visit Alabama this week but will return to Baton Rouge this weekend.” It was assumed that it was Keys’ decision not to attend the Tuesday visit, indicating that he is either locked into his LSU commitment or that he has already been swayed by another of his official visits to Miami, Texas A&M, Auburn, or Tennessee. However, Keys then took to social media to clear things up.
All of this is false I (Tristen Keys) did not cancel the OV I got a call after a training session to not come this week. My bags were packed already. Respectfully
— Tristen(TK5)Keys 5⭐️ (@Tkgot5) June 17, 2025
Tristen Keys claims that Alabama canceled his official visit to Tuscaloosa
The No. 1 wide receiver in the country is largely expected to decide between LSU and Tennessee, meaning that Alabama won’t just miss out on adding him as a future target for 2025 five-star quarterback Keelon Russell, but that Alabama defensive coordinator Kane Wommack will have to game-plan to stop him once a year.
Either way, whether Alabama or Keys canceled the visit, missing out on this flip opportunity is a significant blow to the Tide’s 2026 recruiting class, but considering that Kalen DeBoer has only landed seven commitments through mid-June, it’s puzzling that his staff would tell Keys not to come.
The good news is that DeBoer added the program’s seventh commitment on Tuesday, when Keys was supposed to arrive in Tuscaloosa, four-star quarterback Jett Thomalla, who flipped from Iowa State. The rest of the news on the recruiting trail for the Tide has mostly been bad.
In addition to missing out, or potentially punting on the recruiting of Keys, Alabama was cut from consideration by five-star athlete Brandon Arrington on Monday night as he nears his Thursday commitment. Arrington just visited Alabama in June between his trips to College Station and Eugene.
DeBoer desperately needed a win, and maybe Thomalla represents a big enough one to appease the fanbase, but this revelation from Keys won’t help his program’s recruiting momentum as it nears the end of the crucial official visit season.