For the Orange and White Game over the weekend, Tennessee wasn’t quite at full strength at receiver, but it was still an opportunity to see some fresh faces who might make the roster this fall.
Even though the starting lineup was primarily made up of reserves, we were nevertheless able to witness impressive performances from Chris Brazzell, the transfer portal winner, and five-star rookie Mike Matthews. When you combine those two with Dont’e Thornton, Squirrel White, Bru McCoy, and the other players, you have a really intriguing group to go with quarterback Nico Iamaleava.
“Being clever and purposeful with the things that we’ve had to deal with to deal with everything from when we first arrived as staff to where our program was at.”
This depth includes younger players like Nathan Leacock and Braylon Staley as well as a couple of men who have been here for a while, like Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod. Throughout his tenure with Tennessee, Josh Heupel hasn’t demonstrated a strong desire to switch up the receivers on the field. However, this season, with so much talent and athleticism throughout the roster, maybe that will change.
Before we get to training camp and even before the opener, there are a lot of young players in our system who still have a lot of growing to do, according to Heupel. “Those are newcomers, transfers, and young men in our system, but I adore their sense of competition.” They’ve written plays. In essence, they’re improving greatly. Releases, blocking technique, and knowledge of how to work with second and third level defenders are all important. The ball is not in their hands. Observing their growth has been quite positive, and there is still much ahead of them.
The second-best talent in Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class, Matthews, made an immediate impression on Saturday.
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