Mike Matthews has watched from the sideline for the first two weeks of the season.
His time came Saturday, suiting up for the first time in a Tennessee football uniform.
In a 71-0 win over Kent State, the true freshman receiver put forth two receptions for 35 yards and a touchdown. He also added a 32-yard kick return in the first quarter, setting Tennessee up with good field positioning.
Matthews’ first action with the ball in his hands was a 32-yard kick return, setting Tennessee up at the Kent State 48-yard line. On the ensuing drive, he recorded his first collegiate catch — charting 17 yards on the stat sheet.
READ MORE: 5 standout plays from Tennessee football’s win over Kent State
“I think we’ve always seen, you know, his big-play ability in practice and, you know, it was good to see it carry over to the game,” quarterback Nico Iamaleava said. “He’s always making tough, contested catches, so it was good to see him shine tonight.”
With halftime approaching, Matthews located the checkerboards for the first time. Finding a soft spot in the defense, the Georgia native withstood contact through the catch to haul in his first touchdown catch. The score came from 18 yards out with two seconds remaining in the first half.
“Mike is a guy that we’ve had great trust,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “Through spring ball, early part of training camp got nicked up, we were able to, able to use our four wide package now with him being healthy tonight and, and so it was good to have him out there. He made plays, he handled himself within the flow of the game extremely well. Really excited about what he did, but a lot of our young guys too.”
Matthews was a prized possession in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class. According to 247Sports, the wide receiver was ranked No. 40 in the country from Parkview High School in Lilburn, Georgia. His status placed him as the second-highest rated prospect in the Vols’ class, behind Jordan Ross.
Other freshmen take field
Highly touted freshman linebacker Edwin Spillman also made his season debut. The Lipscomb Academy product totaled two tackles in the win.
“Edwin’s been a guy since he’s first been here, one of the hardest working people I know,” linebacker Jeremiah Telander said. “And I think he had a great performance and I was so glad to see him out there and just, just excited to see everybody out there, that second half. It’s so fun watching our boys get out there and have a chance to go play, but Edwin Spillman did a great job and he’s been waiting to have his debut.”
Spillman’s first tackle came in the second quarter, stuffing a 1-yard run on a first-and-10 play. His second tackle came in a similar scenario, snagging the runner for a gain of two yards in the third quarter.
Other newcomers to make their debut include freshmen wide receivers Braylon Staley, Braylon Harmon and Malcolm Kinzer, alongside Matthews and Spillman.
Harmon was the only one of the bunch to record another stat, returning one punt for 6 yards.
Spillman was part of a defense that allowed Kent State to total 112 yards, while holding the Golden Flashes to negative yardage for the majority of the first half. Allowing zero points in the game, Tennessee extended its streak of not allowing a defensive touchdown to 16 quarters — and 21 straight quarters against non-SEC opponents.
“That’s the mindset for every game on defense,” Telander said. “You wanna see that goose egg on the board. We’re gonna toss a bagel and yeah, that’s the mindset. And don’t let anybody in our end zone, especially when we’re at Neyland, we take that personally.”
Tennessee will take a break from Neyland Stadium over the next few weeks with a two games on the road and a bye week stifled in between. The Vols will head to Oklahoma Sept. 21 for a meeting with the Sooners.
