Tennessee football, despite signing its highest rated class in more than a decade, is dealing with chaos surrounding one of its prized recruits — or, at least, the appearance of chaos.
Legend Bey’s signing has stirred up reports of family strife, unverified cryptic social media posts and questions about the player’s future with UT before his career even begins.
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Bey, a four-star athlete from Heartland, Texas, signed with Tennessee on Dec. 3, the first day of the early signing period.
It was a very good pickup for the Vols. They beat defending national champion Ohio State for Bey, a playmaking quarterback who’s projected to play wide receiver in college.
At 1:42 p.m., Bey submitted his paperwork to Tennessee, making him an official member of the Vols’ 2026 signing class.
UT celebrated and even delayed coach Josh Heupel’s press conference, which was scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m., in order to add Bey to the press release distributed to media members.
It was a signing day victory for the Vols. But then the drama and the confusion began.
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Bey did not respond to a Knox News interview request on Dec. 4.
Legend Bey signed with Tennessee surrounded by Ohio State gear
Bey had pinballed between Tennessee and Ohio State throughout his senior season at North Forney.
He committed to Tennessee in June. Then he flipped his commitment to Ohio State in November. And then he flipped back to Tennessee on signing day.
That created an awkward scene at his signing day ceremony, as his high school gym was decorated like an Ohio State pep rally. There were scarlet and grey balloons, Buckeyes banners, framed photos of him from his Ohio State recruiting trip and an Ohio State centerpiece next to red cupcakes to celebrate the event.
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So it was a shock when Bey, at the last moment, changed his mind and signed with Tennessee.
In Knoxville, Heupel gave UT wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope credit for flipping Bey back to the Vols. Pope is an accomplished recruiter, and he has a good relationship with Bey.
North Forney quarterback Legend Bey attends the Ohio State football game against Penn State at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 1, 2025.
Did Legend Bey or his mom choose Tennessee football?
One obvious factor seemed to be Ohio State offensive coordinator/wide receivers coach Brian Hartline being hired as the coach at South Florida. Hartline recruited Bey to Ohio State, and news of his departure broke hours before Bey signed.
But reports from Columbus, Ohio, pointed in other directions, specifically within Bey’s family.
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BuckNuts.com, the 247Sports site that covers Ohio State, reported that Bey’s mother wanted him to go to Tennessee instead of Ohio State, and that it had stirred strife within the family.
Bey and his mother met privately before the signing, BuckNuts.com reported, and then Bey signed with Tennessee. Bey is only 17 years old. As a minor, he would require his parents’ signature on any scholarship agreement with a university.
Neither Bey nor his mother were cited in the BuckNuts.com report.
Strange social media post added to confusion
Then the story got weirder.
On Dec. 4, according to numerous reports, the following message was posted on Bey’s X account and then quickly deleted:
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“Good Afternoon, I was just recently logged out of my IG (Instagram) and probably will be logged out of this Account as well by my older brother who has access to my account because, I won’t sign to the school him and my mother wants – Legend Bey”
Whether Bey actually made that post is unknown. There have been no other posts on that X account since Dec. 2, the day before he signed.
On Bey’s Instagram account, there are several posts acknowledging and celebrating his signing with Tennessee.
Will Legend Bey play for Tennessee?
Bey hasn’t addressed reports and rumors surrounding his signing. They could be exaggerated or simply not true.
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All that matters is whether Bey actually wants to play for Tennessee, and if he’ll report to the Vols as an early enrollee in January.
If Bey doesn’t want to play for the Vols, he could enter the transfer portal, which opens Jan. 2. But Tennessee instead would release him from his scholarship so he’d be free to sign with another school.
As a coveted recruit, Bey undoubtedly signed a lucrative NIL deal with Tennessee. But by rule, a university cannot pay direct school-to-player NIL money until the student-athlete is enrolled and on campus.
For now, Bey is one of 28 members of UT’s celebrated signing class. Whether he’ll join them in Knoxville remains to be seen.
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Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Legend Bey signing with Tennessee football stirred Ohio State drama
