The Tennessee Vols received some bad news to start the week when 2026 four-star athlete Legend Bey announced on Monday that he had flipped his commitment to the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Bey, 5-foot-11/175 lbs from Forney, TX, is rated in 247Sports’ composite rankings at the No. 24 athlete in the nation and the No. 47 player in the state of Texas.

The four-star recruit had been committed to Tennessee since late June.

Part of the reason why Bey flipped to Ohio State is because he’s looking for early playing time, which he was unlikely to receive at Tennessee.

The positive for Tennessee that could come from Legend Bey flipping to Ohio State

Tennessee certainly didn’t want to lose Bey to Ohio State. Vols head coach Josh Heupel and wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope, in fact, attended Bey’s high school game last week in an effort to stave off the Buckeyes.

Fortunately for the Vols, there’s some good that may come from losing Bey to Ohio State.

Tennessee is working hard to flip 2026 four-star running back Amari Latimer from the Wisconsin Badgers.

On3’s Steve Wiltfong noted recently that Bey flipping to Ohio State could help Tennessee land Latimer. That’s because Ohio State plans to give Bey some time at running back, whereas the Vols were planning to use Bey at wide receiver. Ohio State is one of the programs that’s in the mix for Latimer. But with Bey heading to Columbus, it’s less likely that Latimer will choose the Buckeyes.

Latimer, 5-foot-11/230 lbs from Tyrone, GA, is rated by 247Sports as the No. 18 running back in the nation and the No. 34 player in the state of Georgia.

The four-star running back took an official visit to Tennessee earlier this month for the Vols’ loss to the Oklahoma Sooners.

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