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Go get it: Tennessee wide receivers know it’s their time to shine
By Mark Nagi
Published:
Tennessee is still known in some circles as “Wide Receiver U.”
Stanley Morgan. Peerless Price. Carl Pickens. Joey Kent. Marcus Nash. The list is full of players who made their mark in college and the pros.
The current generation of Tennessee pass catchers has not been on that level, but they will have the opportunity to make names for themselves in the Vols history books.
In 2021, Vols receivers will be part of a new offense that has the potential for big play opportunities. Well, certainly more than we saw under the Jim Chaney/Chris Weinke/Jarrett Guarantano offenses that struggled to find the end zone.
In terms of what Tennessee lost from 2020, we start with Josh Palmer. They will miss his 99 career catches for 1,514 yards. Palmer was picked in the third round by the Los Angeles Chargers. The Vols also lost Brandon Johnson (79 career receptions), freshman Malachi Wideman and sophomore Kenney Solomon. All three transferred.
Tennessee has leaders and a potential star in this group of receivers, including senior Velus Jones Jr., who is the top returning pass-catcher on this team. Last year Jones was 3rd on the Vols in catches with 22. He started the final 6 games of the season. His best afternoon came in a win over Vanderbilt, in which he set career highs with 7 catches for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. Jones is also a factor in the return game, averaging nearly 24 yards per kickoff return.
Junior Cedric Tillman hasn’t made a huge impact, with only 8 catches in his 25 games. But his diving 46-yard touchdown reception in the season finale against Texas A&M made a whole bunch of highlight reels and gave Tennessee fans a memorable moment heading into the winter. At 6-3 and 215 pounds, Tillman is a physical receiver and should get more opportunities this Fall.
Junior Ramel Keyton was supposed to be a player who could stretch the field, but in 2020 he collected only 9 catches for 76 yards. Keyton had 2 catches for 60 yards in the 2020 TaxSlayer Bowl, but otherwise has had a fairly quiet 2 years at Tennessee, with 3 career starts.
The big-play threat heading into the 2021 campaign looks like sophomore Jalin Hyatt. He started 1 game as a true freshman and played in all 10. His most eye-popping performance came against Alabama, making 2 catches for 86 yards, including a 38-yard touchdown, his first college scoring play.
Most notably, 6 of Hyatt’s 20 catches totaled over 20 yards.
For perspective, that was second on the team only to Palmer (9) and only 1 fewer than Auburn speedster Anthony Schwartz. Tennessee only completed 30 such passes last year, which tied Arkansas for 9th in the SEC.
It’s no secret that the Vols’ offense was anemic last year, but Hyatt still was able to pick up a lot of real estate, even with so many limitations. Hyatt could be in line to benefit greatly from the change in offensive philosophy, as new head coach Josh Heupel tries to find ways to utilize Hyatt’s breakaway speed.
As we saw in the spring game, Heupel is going to take home-run shots. Can Tennessee’s QBs complete them? The answer to that will determine the Vols’ offensive ceiling this year.
Sophomore Jimmy Holiday is another speedster capable of flying past a safety. As a freshman, he played mostly on special teams. He has spent time in the quarterbacks room, but for now the Vols are looking at him primarily at receiver.
Sophomore Jimmy Calloway had a solid spring and hopes to carry that momentum into the 2021 season. Calloway caught 2 passes in the victory over Vanderbilt. Like Holiday, he contributed on special teams. He still needs to put on more muscle to withstand the rigors of playing in the SEC.
An intriguing prospect is true freshman Walker Merrill. One of the top 10 recruits in the state of Tennessee for the Class of 2021, Merrill was an early enrollee and participated in spring practice. Merrill had 1,173 receiving yards at Brentwood High School in 2020. He might be a year or two from making an impact.
The Vols did get at least a little bit of good news from the transfer portal. They picked up former Mississippi State pass-catcher JaVonta Payton as a grad transfer. Payton caught 28 passes for 372 yards as a touchdown while playing in Starkville.
Of course, this wide receiving corps cannot do it alone. The offensive line needs to give them time to get downfield, and the quarterbacks have to get them the football. But this group has potential to take over games. We’ll find out if they can make a difference come September.
Mark Nagi has covered Tennessee athletics for over 20 years. He is the author of “Decade of Dysfunction,” an in-depth look at all that led to the crazy coaching search of 2017 at Tennessee. The book is available on Amazon.
