Palmer: Vols Freshman 'Can Do Something Special For Us This Year'

Tennessee Volunteers Wide receiver Josh Palmer shares his thoughts on the incoming 2020 freshman class

Senior wide receiver Josh Palmer is expected to be one of the top forms of production for the Tennessee Volunteers this fall. Palmer is coming off a season where he served as the third option in Tennessee's passing attack behind Jauan Jennings and Marquez Callaway. Palmer caught 34 passes for 457 yards and one touchdown. Now, Palmer will serve as one of the primary targets, but the receiving corps around him will look vastly different. Tennessee brought in coveted prospects in the form of Malachi Wideman, Dee Beckwith, and Jalin Hyatt, in addition to a well-rounded 2020 class.

Despite only being around the full group for a short period of time, Palmer had plenty of high praise to say about them during today's media availability.

When asked if any of the freshman receivers had caught his attention, he said, "Yeah, all of them, to be honest.  The coaches did a great job recruiting this year, as they do every year. Like I said before, right now what we’re focusing on is competition and just knowing the playbook, the ins and outs of the playbook. I feel every freshman, from receiver to DB to running back to every single position, can come in and do something special for us this year."

When asked specifically about Jalin Hyatt, who Jeremy Pruitt described as "well-polished" last week, Palmer had this to say, "

Just his competitive spirit, along with all the other freshmen that are pushing him. He is just trying to do, all of them are trying to do what we ask of them, and what the coaches have asked of them, so every freshman, they’re competing, and it’s great to see, especially me being the veteran in the room. Brandon and I, we like to just watch the younger guys work and see what they can do.”

Palmer also added about the receiving room, " All of the freshmen have been shooting on all cylinders. The upperclassmen are doing a good job getting them acclimated and going over the plays a lot. We just take one practice at a time, especially with the freshmen. They really don't know how things used to look beforehand because of everything with COVID. So now we’re just kind of taking them under our wing, and we’re looking for a great season."

Palmer also weighed in on the quarterback position, which you can see here.