Three receivers returned from the 2024 Tennessee football team that made a run to the College Football Playoff.
Much turnover occurred in the corps, leaving a young core of pass catchers for second-year starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava. Sophomore Mike Matthews highlights the room, joined alongside redshirt junior Chris Brazzell II and fellow sophomore Braylon Staley.
The group enters spring practice with just 84 catches under their belt — 74 of which come from the seasoned Brazzell, who accumulated 29 in his lone season with the Vols. Despite the inexperience, head coach Josh Heupel is not worried about the options he has in the room.
“I love the group that we’ve got,” Heupel said. “As a staff, you always evaluate where you’re at on the back end of spring ball, and we’ll certainly do that, but I do really like the guys that we’ve got in there.”
Alabama redshirt freshman transfer Amari Jefferson is the only other guy with experience on a college campus. The former Baylor School prep star did not see action in his lone season in Tuscaloosa, where he elected to move back north to his home state with an abundance of snaps left to be played.
The mass exodus was highlighted by a couple of names that entered the transfer portal paired with graduating seniors, leaving few options with collegiate snaps up their belt on the team. Bru McCoy and Dont’e Thornton Jr. played through their final year of eligibility. Squirrel White, Chaz Nimrod, Kaleb Webb and Nathan Leacock all elected to find a new destination to play out their careers.
“You want to come try out here?” Heupel joked in his press conference. “Listen, you know, ultimately it’s always about the guys in the room. A year ago, we had some guys that departed through the transfer portal. Hard to keep everybody happy at that position.”
All in all, Tennessee departed a total of 116 receptions for 1,696 yards and 10 touchdowns, including each of the top three receivers in terms of production. It returned just 39 catches for 444 yards and four touchdowns — the bulk of which came from Brazzell.
That’s where a trio of freshmen are inserted to fill out the remainder of the room. The Vols and receivers coach Kelsey Pope attacked the in-state window, bringing in fellow Baylor School pass catcher Joakim Dodson as well as West Tennessee native Radarious Jackson. Atlanta native Travis Smith Jr. rounds out the room.
Dodson is the lone man to not have already made it to campus, as he did not elect to enroll early out of high school. Meanwhile, Jefferson has sported jerseys in practice regarding a return from injury designation as Staley sat out of Monday’s scrimmage. Still, the group has drawn praise.
“How they work, how they compete, how they try and grow,” Heupel said. “That’s on the practice field. It’s outside of it. I like what they’ve done through the course of spring ball, too.”
As Iamaleava heads into his second year at the helm of the offense, the connection between his receivers is important. It’s why he flew Matthews out to his California home over the offseason to train.
With two scrimmages in the books and 12 practices down, that connection is only growing stronger.
“They’ve been consistent in making plays day in and day out on the practice field,” Heupel said. “And for them, it’s just constant growth as far as within the scope of what we’re doing, the fundamentals and technique, learning how to attack defenders, reading zone/man, and ultimately getting on the same page with the quarterback.”
The same remains true for the pair of freshmen, Jackson and Smith, who have not had the opportunity to spend a full offseason with Iamaleava.
“Those guys have been really consistent as far as what we’re getting out of them on the practice field and in the meeting room,” Heupel said. “You see them continuing to take strides. I thought they both performed really well today, talking about the two new young guys that were in that room.”
