Early Evaluation: Tennessee's WR Room Only Progressing after NFL Departures

The Tennessee Volunteers didn't stretch the field much last Saturday, but when they did, their wide receivers were more than up for the challenge.

It's hard to take away much from the passing game when Tennessee ran for 287 yards in the win over Virginia. It is encouraging that Tennessee once again proved they can be very two-dimensional, which will benefit them when they start playing in SEC competition. However, from the small sample size we saw, the Tennessee receivers look more than capable of filling the gaps left by Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman.

One of the things I noticed from the receiver group is that it is very diverse. Last year, the Vols had a lot of speed, which was necessary with that offense. However, this year, Squirrel White, Ramel Keyton, Bru McCoy, and Dont'e Thornton are vastly different players.

White was probably the most impressive of the bunch on Saturday, catching six passes for 45 yards. We know that he is athletic, but White showed on Saturday that he can be more than just an athlete, and his receiver skills in route running and hands are good. Ramel Keyton probably would've been the most impressive had he not dropped a sure touchdown on a great throw by quarterback Joe Milton. It's pretty clear that Keyton is still a big play threat, and it seems as if Tennessee could be trying to use him more as a volume guy this year, but that is something he needs to prove.

We didn't see much from Bru McCoy, as he only had two catches for 21 yards, but one of the two catches showed what he can do. McCoy will be a contested catch receiver, and even though he might not be the only one, he's got good size and a good frame in addition to having good hands. He made a catch on a slant in traffic, where he got hit almost instantly; that was the best catch the Vols had in the game.

Finally, Dont'e Thornton will be a downfield receiver, but we didn't get to see it. Thornton has a chance to lead the Vols in receiving touchdowns, but Tennessee didn't need to showcase all of its weapons and tricks. Once we get to SEC play, Thornton will get more involved with his ability to stretch defenses. Overall, there isn't much of a drop-off, if any, regarding the receivers. If Tennessee does take a step back as a team, I'm confident it won't be because of the losses of Hyatt and Tillman.

Tennessee Volunteers WR Bru McCoy fighting for a first down in the win over Virginia on September 2nd, 2023, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Caitie McMekin of the News Sentinel)

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