Positional preview: The Receivers

Gone is leading receiver Josh Palmer but the Vols welcome back experienced receiver Velus Jones and one of last years top newcomers in Jalin Hyatt.

After a stretch of games early in the year where Jones wasn’t a factor, he became much more a part of the offense down the stretch last year finishing with 22 catches for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns. The senior transfer from Southern Cal is not only the most experienced receiver at Tennessee. He’s one of the most experienced in the SEC.

Hyatt showed flashes of speed and big play ability in 2020. He averaged nearly 14 yards a catch with 276 yards and 2 touchdowns on 20 catches.

Both are excited about the new offense and both will be counted on big time to stretch the field.

Behind Jones and Hyatt, the Vols return veteran Cedric Tillman who had 3 catches a year ago then. Ramel Keyton, who has 13 career receptions. Then two second year players in Jimmy Holliday and Jimmy Callaway who both played very little a year ago.

Tennessee welcomes in transfer Javonta Peyton, freshman Walker Merrill and junior college transfer Andison Cody.

Last year at Mississippi State, Peyton had 19 catches for 225 yards and a touchdown. Peyton’s experience is a welcomed sight as he played in 22 games in his Bulldog career. Merrill is a guy who looked pretty good in the spring, but he’s coming off a knee injury. He should be good to go, but he’s been limited this summer.

Cody is a signee under former interim head coach Kevin Steele. Cody had 7 touchdowns in 2020 for Northeast Mississippi Junior College. Cody seemed to get better throughout spring practice as he started to get an understanding of the offense.

Jones, Payton and Hyatt have had success in this league and should understand the physicality of it.

This is a diverse group of receivers in terms of size which could create some interesting match ups.

The greatest strength for this unit is probably the offensive system. It’s said to be quarterback and receiver friendly which means this group should have more depth because it won’t take all season to get a receiver ready to play.

What kind of fit are these receivers for what Heupel truly wants to do offensively. Is this group fast enough as the head coach is looking for lots of speed to make his offensive attack go. At Central Florida last season 5 receivers averaged over 13.5 yards a catch. A year ago Hyatt and Palmer averaged over 13.5 yards a catch for the Vols.

Does Heupel have the speed with his Vols to generate that kind of offensive big play production in the passing game.