There are a million reasons why Tennessee’s football team didn’t achieve its preseason goals in 2024. Let’s take a look at receiver, especially after two UT recruiting targets went off in the College Football Playoff on Wednesday.
The Vols tried their best to land receiver Jeremiah Smith from Miami, Fla., but he eventually chose Ohio State. Let’s just say the freshman has done okay.
Smith caught six passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns against Tennessee as the Vols were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs 42-17 by the Buckeyes. Then, in the Rose Bowl against the Oregon Ducks Wednesday, he caught seven passes for 187 yards and two touchdowns as Ohio State won 42-21.
He wasn’t the only one.
The Vols were close to landing Texas freshman receiver Ryan Wingo from St. Louis. That didn’t happen as the Longhorns swooped in. He’s done alright. The freshman has caught four passes during the playoffs for 56 yards in the playoffs, helping lead his team into football’s final four.
Before you think I’m simply bringing talent into question, hold on. The Vols landed a very talented freshman receiver, Mike Matthews, in last year’s class. Is he not as good as Smith or Wingo or just didn’t get the same opportunities? Probably a bit of both.
Matthews caught seven passes for 90 yards and two touchdowns this season. What’s most troubling is that he didn’t seem to find more opportunities as the season went on. Matthews didn’t have a catch and wasn’t a factor in the Vols’ loss to Ohio State.
Matthews’ plight could spell trouble for the Vols in recruiting moving forward. Opposing recruiters can point to Matthews as a reason why highly touted prospects shouldn’t sign with Tennessee. Once thought of as Wide Receiver U, the Vols’ reputation as such may need some rehab.
Now, anyone that watched Tennessee’s football team in 2024 knows full well that the Vols had a freshman quarterback, a problem at offensive tackle that triggered mass domino-like issues and more injuries than a team should ever have to deal with on one side of the ball. However, truth and recruiting don’t always go hand-in-hand.
I was recently asked on a radio show if Tennessee receiver Kelsey Pope was the problem, that he and his crew didn’t get along last season. That may well be the case as there never seemed to be great chemistry among the group. However, I have trouble blaming Pope, who helped lead former Vol Jalin Hyatt win the Bilitnikoff Award in 2022 as the best receiver in college football. That’s a pretty good calling card.
Whether or not Pope is the problem is up to Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Nevertheless, he had better find a solution fast. The Vols have three receivers signed for the 2025 class: four-star prospect Travis Smith, Jr., from Atlanta, four-star prospect Radarious Jackson from Memphis and three-star prospect Joakim Dodson from Collierville, Tenn., just outside of Memphis. That’s good, but not elite. Can the Vols still battle for the top wideouts in the nation as once believed? I have my doubts.
The Vols’ receiving corp now seems to be undergoing a transformation. Matthews has entered the transfer portal but could return. Slot specialist Squirrel White is also in the portal. No matter their impact last season, they would be missed.
Tennessee probably won’t miss former Vol Bru McCoy quite as much as they once thought. That’s a shame. McCoy is an incredible leader and could have become an incredible collegiate player. However, his severe ankle injury in 2023 seems to have robbed him of some explosiveness – or was it how he was used?
That’s the question that Heupel has to ask himself headed into the offseason. If Pope is a part of the problem, Heupel can’t let loyalty stand in his way. If Heupel thinks the offense needs to be tweaked, that’s on him as well.
Heupel doesn’t have to look far to see the kind of receiver play he needs. It’s on television during each broadcast of the college football playoff.
