High School

Tennessee flipping Ohio State pledge turning into a 'Legend' of a tale in Texas high school football circles

Quarterback Legend Bey and running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. flipped to Tennessee and Oklahoma, respectively

Edith Noriega

North Forney's Legend Bey threw for 1,608 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 30 TDs on the ground his senior season.
North Forney's Legend Bey threw for 1,608 yards and 16 touchdowns while adding 30 TDs on the ground his senior season. / X (Twitter)

The last 24 hours have been a roller coaster ride for four-star recruit Legend Bey and his college decision, flipping from Ohio State to Tennessee on National Signing Day.

Bey, a senior quarterback at North Forney, was committed to Ohio State but ended up signing with Tennessee over alleged pressure from his family and his mother not signing his approval, according to 247Sports. The recruiting website further reported that once Bey turns 18 in a few weeks, he will likely seek his release from the Vols to sign with the Buckeyes.

In a now deleted post on Thursday morning on Bey's social media account X (formerly known as Twitter), he stated:

"Good afternoon, I was just recently logged out of my IG 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."

Even the beat writers for the Vols, in Knoxville, aren't really quite sure what to make of what happened and how. They profiled the unique situation on Dec. 4, stating they have yet to talk to Bey.

Bey had been committed to Tennessee since June before flipping to Ohio State on Nov. 10.

The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Bey is the No. 7 ranked athlete in the country and the No. 21 overall prospect in Texas.

He was at North Forney High School on Wednesday and stood for photos in front of his booth decked out in Ohio State red and black. On the same day, it was announced that offensive coordinator Brian Hartline accepted the head coaching job at South Florida.

Not a single sliver of Orange was seen on signing day on any of the North Forney signees.

Bey told The Dallas Morning News hours before signing with the Vols that the move didn't impact his decision. He even spoke highly of Ohio State head coach Ryan Day, "That's my guy. We're locked in for sure."

Bey threw for 1,608 yards and 16 touchdowns, and he added 1,780 yards and 30 touchdowns on the ground to help North Forney to a 10-2 overall record in District 10-6A. North Forney reached the second round of the state tournament.

Jonathan Hatton Jr. signs with Oklahoma, flipping from Texas A&M

Four-star running back Jonathan Hatton Jr. announced last week he has flipped his commitment from Texas A&M and signed back with Oklahoma.

The Cibool Seele standout first committed to Oklahoma in 2023 but de-committed in December of 2024 when other programs like Ohio State and Tennessee entered the mix.

Instead, he chose to commit to Texas A&M in March of 2025, but the Sooners never backed down and will soon join Brent Venables' program.

According his 247Sports composite player rankings, Hatton is the No. 74 ranked player in the class of 2026. He's the No. 5 ranked running back in the country and No. 12 in Texas.

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Edith Noriega
EDITH NORIEGA

Edith Noriega is an award-winning sports journalist who came to the Seattle area after three years in Oregon with the Eugene Register-Guard and its sister newspaper, Salem Statesman Journal, where her focus was high schools and local colleges. Noriega previously covered high schools with the Southern California News Group. She also worked as a Tokyo Olympic Games researcher for NBC Sports, focusing on baseball and softball. She is a proud two-time graduate of Arizona State University’s Cronkite School and Riverside City College. She’s also a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. When not writing, she enjoys playing tennis, yoga, concerts and is currently reading “The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw.” She began contributing to High School On SI in 2025.

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