Auburn stars Deuce Knight & Jamichael Garrett bolster Tigers pursuit of five-star WR target

Five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys is coming off a busy stint at the 2025 Polynesian Bowl. The standout prospect from Hattiesburg High School (Mississippi) is turning his attention to recruitment and plans to visit Hugh Freeze’s Auburn program this weekend.

Auburn wide receiver coach Marcus Davis is leading the charge in recruiting Keys from the Class of 2026. The receiver announced his upcoming visit on X, tagging Freeze, Davis, Auburn five-star quarterback signee Deuce Knight and four-star 2026 class linebacker commit Jamichael Garrett.

"I Will Be Visiting Auburn This Weekend 🦅 #WDE@DeuceKnight @CoachDavisWR @CoachHughFreeze @jamichael97," Keys tweeted.

Knight responded to Keys’ post with a retweet and three winking emojis:

"😉😉😉."

Garrett also retweeted the post with a recruitment pitch:

"lehh do it brudda!"

According to the On3 Industry Rankings, Keys is Mississippi's top recruit, the seventh-best prospect in the country, and the second-best wide receiver. In his junior season (2024), he had 58 receptions for 1,245 yards and 14 touchdowns.

Auburn’s 2026 recruiting class features four-star wide receiver Devin Carter. Alongside Carter and Garrett, the class includes four additional commits and holds the top spot in the Southeastern Conference rankings.

Tristen Keys includes Auburn in his top schools

Tristen Keys unveiled his top 12 schools last week, and Auburn made the cut alongside LSU, Mississippi State, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Ole Miss, USC, Texas A&M, Miami, Oklahoma and Florida.

According to 247Sports national recruiting analyst Tom Loy, Tennessee is the favorite to land Keys' pledge. Meanwhile, On3 ranks Ole Miss as the frontrunner in Keys' recruitment with a 39.2% chance, followed by Auburn (17.6%), Tennessee (15.1%) and Texas A&M (6.6%).

Keys has plenty of time left to decide and is not expected to commit to a program soon. Auburn’s odds of landing him appear slim, but Freeze has proven his ability to recruit top talent, including flipping Deuce Knight from Notre Dame.

Besides Tristen Keys, four-star running back Derrek Cooper also included Auburn in his top 10 schools last week.