MARYVILLE, Tenn. — Former Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt tapped his head on Saturday afternoon, the well-known signal for when a receiver “Mosses” his defender.
Except Hyatt — who won the 2022 Biletnikoff Award as the best receiver in college football — did not make the catch that warranted this celebration.
Instead, Hyatt jogged across the turf inside Maryville’s Shields Stadium, chest-bumped the young man who made the grab and returned to the huddle, where he proceeded to quarterback yet another team of campers wearing white No. 11 shirts.
It was one moment of several that Hyatt and 430 children will remember from Saturday, as he hosted his first camp since returning from his summer practices with the New York Giants.
The Giants took Hyatt with the 73rd pick in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. At his camp, there was certainly a glimpse of his new NFL gear. Hyatt rocked blue shorts, while his his dad sported a silver necklace with the famed “NY” logo.
Still, the most visible color Saturday — the one the fans in attendance know Hyatt best — was Tennessee orange.
And Hyatt was glad to be back among Vol fans, even if it was for just a few hours.
“Man, it was definitely fun coming back to Knoxville,” Hyatt said Saturday in an exclusive with VolReport. “This is my second home, so good to come back and support the kids. Just being out here around them, I enjoyed myself.”
Hyatt certainly appeared to. His participation ranged from the aforementioned quarterback play — a position he held as a kid, according to his father — to smiling for pictures and even going so far as to summon one shy little girl with an easy grin and wag of his finger.
“Him and Hendon (Hooker) are her favorites,” explained the mother to a camp staffer after Hyatt had walked away.
Those personal interactions are what made the day for the Hyatt family, as Tennessee fans of all ages grabbed t-shirts and autographed pictures during and after the four-hour camp.
“When I talk to some of the parents and they talk about how their kid goes to sleep watching Jalin’s highlight videos, there’s truly nothing like it in the country,” said Jalin’s dad, Jamie Hyatt. “We’ve seen a lot of SEC fans in a lot of programs, and there is nothing quite like the fan base in Knoxville for sure.”
Hyatt engaged members of that fan base all afternoon. He went as far as shedding his t-shirt while playing defender with kids of different ages trying to scoot past him for a score.
“It’s awesome,” said Jamie Hyatt. “A feeling of pride for sure, and that’s one of the things I told him. Imagine when you were a kid and the guys you looked up to. Now, you’re in a position to where you get to have a camp, get all these kids to wear your number you wore in college — it has to be pretty special. I know it is for him, but I want him to soak it in and just have fun.”
Hyatt certainly did, running from drill to drill and taking pictures throughout the afternoon. All the while, he was peppered with questions, especially about his dominant five-touchdown performance against Alabama.
“Definitely a lot,” Hyatt said when asked how many times fans posed the question. “But those are the games where, the biggest moments, you come out and do what you’ve got to do. You’ve got to live up to the biggest moments.”
“Man, I still think about that game,” added Jamie Hyatt with a grin. “And still don’t quite know what to say. Was I surprised? Not really, because he was doing some of that stuff his freshman year. But no, I still think about that over and over.”
And at the end of the day, that performance — when coupled with Hyatt’s struggles his sophomore season — offered another lesson within Hyatt’s first camp in East Tennessee.
“I think that was the most satisfying part,” said Hyatt’s father. “When you reach a tough moment in your life or career, what are you going to do to get past that? And Jalin took everything head-on. He did what he needed to do, but he did so much more extra too and took control of the narrative.
“That was one of the most rewarding things, because he didn’t have the type of year he wanted to his sophomore year. But he put in the work and had an outstanding next year. Just so proud on my end.”
That pride has been reflected in Tennessee’s coaching staff, as Jamie Hyatt mentioned that the coaches stopped by their draft party after Hyatt was selected.
“I touch base with them sometimes just out of appreciation for everything they did with him, sticking by his side and keeping him mentally right and pulling him along,” said Jamie Hyatt. “I still text them and say to keep doing what they’re doing, and you see what they’re doing on the recruiting trail — so that’s working for sure.”
Hyatt was one of those top recruits at one point, ranked No. 3 in his state and No. 138 overall coming out of Dutch Fork High School in Irmo, South Carolina.
More than three years later, Hyatt is now shifting his focus toward his first training camp with the Giants — something with which he said he “can’t wait to get started.”
And when he suits up in MetLife Stadium, Hyatt will obviously be catching passes instead of throwing them like he did in Maryville on Saturday.
However, he certainly appeared to enjoy a chance to sling the ball around — especially with the fun that sailed with each throw.
“Just seeing the kids having fun, excited, wanting to play football,” said Hyatt. “I definitely want to make it annual. Almost like every year. We’ll see with my marketing team, but I definitely want to.”
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