Tennessee Volunteers Wide Receiver Working Towards Breakout Year

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Nathan Leacock could be working towards a breakout season according to wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope.

Tennessee wide receiver Nathan Leacock (85) is seen during a Tennessee Vols spring football practice, Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Volfootball0405 0334 / Caitie McMekin/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Nathan Leacock could be working towards a breakout season according to wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope.

There's a lot of excitement around Tennessee's offense heading into the 2024 college football season. Mostly because quarterback Nico Iamaleava is slated to be the full-time starter for the first time in his career, but it's also because of the weapons that surround him on offense. Bru McCoy and Squirrel White are two returning wide receivers who could elevate the position group, but accoridng to wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope, a name to keep an eye on could be one of the younger guys on the depth chart.

"Nathan Leacock caught more footballs than anybody this offseason. He caught 12-13,000 footballs. And he's completely changed his body," Pope said.

Leacock was a true freshman for the Volunteers in 2023 and only played in one game. He enters this season as a redshirt freshman and is still behind quite a few players on the depth chart, but the work he has put in this offseason might earn him an opportunity to be a contributor on offense this year.

Coming out of high school, Leacock was one of the highest rated players in the country. He was listed as the 87th-best player in the country, the 13th-best wide receiver in the class and the third-best player in the state of North Carolina. The talent was recognizable as a high school athlete, and it appears Leacock is working towards taking that a step forward in year two with the program.

Tennessee has answers in the wide receiver room but you can never have too many weapons on offense in today's age of college football. Leacock already carries an impressive frame as he is listed at 6-3 and 217 pounds, and if his development continues at the rate that he is forcing it to go, he could see a good amount of playing time for the Volunteers in 2024. At some point, the work becomes too great to ignore.

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