Tennessee lands a commitment from 2026 4-star in-state WR Tyreek King: 'No other place I visited felt like Tennessee'

Knoxville Catholic wide receiver Tyreek King has seen all he needs to see. Over 20 schools offered the No. 119 prospect in the 2026 On3 Industry Ranking, but he only needed that one. It was Tennessee.

“No other place I visited felt like Tennessee,” King told On3. “Since the 8th grade, I thought about getting an offer from Tennessee, and in March of 2023, I got it and there was no feeling like it. Since I got the offer, I have visited Tennessee over 10 times and it felt like home. It was a different feeling from everywhere else.”

King had schools like Alabama, LSU and Ole Miss on his list, but the school three miles from his house checked all of his boxes.

“The coaches are a big reason I committed to Tennessee. It is a great staff that I trust. Coach (Kelsey) Pope develops receivers and coach (Josh) Heupel cares about his players. The coaches will develop me and get me on the field early.

“I love the quarterbacks too. Faizon Brandon will be there and we will be dangerous together and do some real damage. Location was nice too. I can walk to the campus from my house.”

He lives so close that he can hear the fans on game-day. The energy at Tennessee is different. King loves the atmosphere and he is excited about the direction of the program.

“There is a natty (national championship) on the way,” King said. “Coach Heupel is a dominant coach that will do anything to win. He cares his players, players want to play for him and we have top recruits coming in.

“Coach Pope and the other coaches will make the players better and we are going to win a lot of games in the craziest atmosphere in college football.”

King has known down deep for a while that he wanted to be a Vol. He made it official on Wednesday when he called the staff.

“They were excited, proud and happy to have me. I told them that Tennessee has always been home for me.”