2026 five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys narrowed his list of finalists down to 12 schools on Wednesday. Keys confirmed the news via Instagram. One of the schools that made the cut is Alabama.
The Mississippi native landed an offer from the Crimson Tide in September. Alabama wide receivers coach JaMarcus Shephard has kept in contact with Keys since he earned the offer.
”I had a lot of great talks with him,” Key told Touchdown Alabama. “He came to visit me at my school, and that’s my guy, very energetic guy, and that’s what I like from a receiver coach. Someone I could chill with every day, and we just have fun, and when it’s time to be serious, be serious.”
Keys is one of the top-ranked wide receivers in the ‘26 class. With that being the case, there is a strong chance that he could see immediate playing time as a true freshman. Keys touched on Alabama playing some freshmen in 2024.
”I like how they played a lot of freshmen this year,” said Keys. “Those freshmen contributed to the team. Things didn’t go their way this year, but that’s football, new coaching staff. I still think they did pretty good and worked hard.”
There is a chance that Keys takes a visit to Tuscaloosa in the near future. He certainly has high interest in the Crimson Tide. Alabama thinks highly of Keys as well. Will the Crimson Tide land arguably the top wide receiver in the ‘26 class?
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Brody Smoot is a team reporter for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “follow” him on X, via @brodysmoot.
