Legend Bey Plans to Enroll at Ohio State After Release From Tennessee

A Big Ten school is poised to welcome another athlete to their 2026 class after a late change in their signing decisions.

Four-Star prospect Legend Bey, who first signed with the University of Tennessee last week after decommitting from another school, announced on Tuesday that he will attend Ohio State after being granted a release from the National Letter of Intent he signed with Tennessee. This release has been approved this week.

Bey's signing being finalized has also been noted, having received conflicting information days before signing day. Although Bey is now part of the Tennessee team, there have been several indications that his signing might not necessarily be his choice. According to sources that Rivals reporter Keegan Pope cited, signing by Bey might have been influenced by the involvement of family members, given that Bey is only a minor and thus needs the consent of his parents before signing any documents.

A day after inking his letter of intent, Bey posted, and quickly deleted, a statement on social media claiming he had been made to choose a school of which he was not fond. Subsequent postings on social media of him donning Ohio State Buckeyes gear made it clear where he hoped to attend college.

As Bey was 17 during the early signing period, he could not sign on his own the new National Letter of Intent. Bey turns 18 on December 24th, thereby overcoming the above constraint. Although the early signing period is over, he is set to join college in January and join the program.

Ranked as an athlete by recruitment agencies, Bey played as the quarterback for North Forney High School in Texas; however, he is rated to play as a running back when he joins college. He may also have the versatility to play as a receiver when he joins college. Bey has recorded times of 4.33 and 10.23 seconds in the 40-yard dash and the 100 m, respectively.

Bey currently holds the rank of number 175 among all national prospects and number 9 among athletes in the 2026 class via the 247Sports composite ranking.

His arrival completes a recruiting class for 2026, which features prospective students to fill different positions, including running back Favour Akih and wide receivers Chris Henry Jr., Jerquaden Guilford, Jaeden Ricketts, and Brock Boyd, among others.

NFL Draft prospect recruiting statistics referenced are from 247Sports Composite. Bey originally pledged to Tennessee in June, but reopened his recruitment late in the year. Bey had already stated he would be signing with Ohio State on commit day, December 4, but would end up signing with someone else the same day. His recruitment came to an end as he had been released and would enroll in January.