Tennessee turns to young wide receivers to pick up load down the stretch

Heading into the season, Tennessee felt good about where it was as wide receiver.

However, with one game remaining, two long-term injuries have changed the situation.

Instead of Bru McCoy starting on the outside and Dont'e Thornton playing a role off the bench, both have gone down with season-ending injuries.

Now, wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope and the Vols have looked to young players full of potential to carry the load.

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"It's tough, it is, but that's the name of the game," said Pope on the injuries. "Coach (Josh) Heupel didn't bring me in here to coach a group that's always healthy or to coach a group that's always got senior All-Americans. I think that the cool part about this challenge is each year presents challenges within itself. You have to do a really good job of finding ways to answer whatever conflict you have in the room and your unit."

One of the young receivers making an impact early in his career is Chas Nimrod. The redshirt freshman started against top-ranked Georgia and had a solid afternoon.

Ultimately, he came down with five catches for 44 yards. This included a long of 21 and a tough catch in traffic.

With one game on the slate remaining before the postseason, Nimrod is hitting his stride. Pope even said he had one of his better practices while at Tennessee on Tuesday morning.

Also impressing early in his career is fellow redshirt freshman Kaleb Webb. He caught one pass for 17 yards against the Bulldogs.

"(Nimrod) probably had his best practice today," said Pope. "He's doing a really good job of finding ways to continue to get better each week. It's not just him, Kaleb Webb in that same breath. Those guys had a really good practice today. I think that speaks volumes to this culture. We've talked about the inconsistencies and things not going our way. Those guys continue to rise to the occasion and prepare as if we're playing for the Super Bowl. That lets you know what type of culture is in this building and what type of kids we're dealing with. They're resilient, they're competitive and that's what we want to deal with."

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With younger players being forced to step up, Pope takes a specific approach in their development. He lays out challenges and celebrates when they're accomplished.

This daily occurrence of putting out a goal is repeated once one is reached.

"When you have young guys like that playing, you have to do a good job of challenging them daily," said Pope. "When they meet those challenges, you celebrate like crazy and you create new challenges. That's how you create confidence in this game. We've had some really successful guys here that ultimately got to where they ended up at because they were challenged, that built confidence and then they were able to go make plays like that on the field."

Another wideout who could see action as the season comes to a close is Nathan Leacock. The true freshman hasn't seen much time on the field but is an option off the bench.

Before landing in Knoxville, Leacock was a four-star recruit out of North Carolina. Now, he is being treated like everyone else in the room as he attempts to take the next step in his development.

"You coach him just as hard as you coach the best guy in the room," said Pope. "Those guys know when they come in, nobody is different from the other. You have different temperaments, you have different ways in getting through two guys, but honestly, I'm going to coach Nathan just as hard as I'm going to coach Bru, or Jalin Hyatt, or Cedric Tillman. Everybody is going to get coached hard. I think that creates a respect in the room that once guys are playing, it's earned."

Along with Nimrod and Webb, Leacock is another emerging talent that has impressed at practice in recent weeks.

"Today, (Leacock) had a really good practice," said Pope. "Really, the last two to three weeks he's been practicing really well as he continues to get reps in practice you'll continue to see growth in him."

Now, with the offseason around the corner, Pope is looking to the trio of previously inexperienced receivers to take this mentality into next year.

"They have to go to the offseason feeling like they're starting from square one," said Pope. "I'm talking about being gritty, being competitive and fiery in their preparation. Every rep has to be like a game rep. You have to treat every rep with the mentality and the urgency like the game is on the line in the fourth quarter. When you do that, the game slows down, it slows down for you."

Next, Tennessee will host Vanderbilt at 3:30 p.m. ET on SECN. Nimrod will likely be the starting X-receiver with Ramel Keyton also on the outside and Squirrel White in the slot.

However, it can be expected that Webb also sees the field. If the score gets out of hand in the favor of the Vols, Leacock could play, as well.

"I'm looking forward to playing this game this weekend," said Pope. "We know what this game means to our fan base. It means a lot to our players and we're going to come out, we're going to need all our fans. We're going to come out the right way. We plan on it being a good one this weekend."

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