Tennessee’s offense is facing quite the task heading into Josh Heupel’s second season.

It returns one of the best wide receivers in the country in Cedric Tillman, yet question marks fill the remainder of the room.

“A year ago, we were walking into the same situation – Ced was a guy that nobody knew about,” Vols offensive coordinator Alex Golesh told the media. “Velus (Jones Jr.) was a guy nobody knew about. So I think it’ll kind of play itself out, whether people can feel like they need to roll coverage that way or do something unique to take him away. Obviously if it becomes a one-man show, that would be really hard offensively, but I think in this system, I think looking back at it over the years, it’s kind of played itself out.”

Tillman burst on to the scene last season when he caught 72 passes for 1,205 yards and 14 touchdowns. He set the school record for most consecutive games with a touchdown catch, scoring in the final seven games of the year, as he carries the streak into 2022.

The Las Vegas native combined with Velus Jones and JaVonta Payton for 2,301 yards and 25 touchdowns. But Jones and Payton graduated, and Tillman needs someone else to step up to take pressure off of him.

“We feel good with who’s going to be opposite of him, in terms of whether it’s one guy or a group of guys,” Golesh said. “We feel like this is as deep as we’ve been in the slot, going into camp at least. There’s a bunch of guys that have to prove something in that room in the same breadth as they did a year ago, a bunch of guys that had to prove something in that room.

“I think if (Tillman) was a one-man show, it would be really hard. I’m pretty confident that it won’t be that way.”

Tennessee returns just 39 catches, 439 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns in its wide receiver room when you take out Tillman’s production. Only one of the five receivers who contributed to that production had double-digits catches: Jalin Hyatt, who caught 21 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

Hyatt has pieced together a terrific offseason, drawing rave reviews from those inside the program for his improved work ethic. The junior figures to be a fixture in the slot to help Tillman.

Still, the Vols need a receiver on the outside opposite of Tillman to step up.

“Jalin Hyatt seems like a different guy mentally,” wide receivers coach Kelsey pope said. “Physically he’s gained about 8-10 pounds. But the competitiveness that he showed last year, he’s channeling it in a different direction (now). You see him respond the right way. You see him coach guys up when he’s not in. He’s really taken on that accountability role for himself but also for the (wide receiver) room.

“I feel like Ramel (Keyton) did some positive things (on the outside). Walker Merrill has been out there, has made some plays, operated really efficiently. Bru (McCoy) has done some really good things in some of our practices. That’s a point of competition here still in the back half of training camp. We’ve got to have multiple guys step up and certainly would like at least one of them to step up and grab hold of that position.”

The Mountain Dew is beginning to wear off as the Vols creep towards the second half of fall camp. Bodies are starting to wear down after being excited for the start of camp, as is the mind.

Despite the challenges of fall camp, if Tennessee’s wide receiver room is going to take the next step and take pressure off of Tillman, it’s going to need to find consistency within the details and execution.

“It becomes more of a mental game,” Pope said. “Now, when your body is tired, it really separates the elite from the average guy. So the detail, the execution, those are things that are going to help you be consistent.

“Coach Heup talks about competitive composure. In order to be competitive when you’re tired, you have to stay composed when the bullets are flying. And that detail piece has to be incorporated. You have to apply it. That’s what has allowed us to be consistent over the last couple days.”

Tennessee will open the season on Thursday, Sept. 1 against Ball State. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.