Tennessee receiver Jalin Hyatt is taking his humble, public approach to a whole new level.
“This is, personally, probably my best game,” the junior said.
Really? That makes sense. It would be hard to imagine any game being better than scoring five touchdowns on six catches, amassing 207 yards and helping beat Alabama for the first time since 2006.
Hyatt has predicted big games before amongst his teammates. Then, he would share those predictions with the media, but five touchdowns?
“To be honest, I didn’t know I was going to have five touchdowns,” Hyatt said. “That’s a lot, but it was just the looks, what they were showing us.”
Thanks for being honest. The Alabama “looks” Hyatt was referring to was the way that the Crimson Tide defended the Vols in Tennessee’s 52-49 win. Hyatt didn’t specify what “looks” he was getting, but they must have been good for Hyatt and quarterback Hendon Hooker.
“Me and Hook, we were on the right page in what we were looking at,” Hooker said. “Not only that, but him trusting in me. I’m just blessed. It’s been awhile since we beat Bama. I’m glad we got the win.”
Big plays were the key for the Vols. Hyatt accounted for most of them. Hyatt scored from 78, 60, 36, 13 and 11 yards against the Crimson Tide.
“We knew we could execute on big plays and we’d have to if we wanted to win this game,” Hyatt said.
When asked about the crowd noise, Hyatt said he tends to black out during games because he is so focused. He only hears the crowd when he scores, which means he heard the crowd five times on Saturday.
“We didn’t prepare thinking we were going to lose at all,” Hyatt said. “We came in here confident. We came in here like it was another game, like we always do. The players here, they know what to expect.
“You know the guys you have to beat when you sign that Letter of Intent. We did that tonight.”
Indeed – and humble as well.
