Joey Halzle shares confidence in as many as six wide receivers

Along with replacing star quarterback Hendon Hooker, Tennessee will also have to replace some production at the wide receiver position this upcoming season. The Volunteers lost Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman to the most recent NFL Draft, two players both have 1,000-yard receiving seasons under their belts in Knoxville.

But new offensive coordinator Joey Halzle is confident in his rotation of wide receivers with the season less than a week away.

“Yeah we’ve got five or six guys we feel really comfortable rolling with, keeping guys fresh, like similar to my conversation with the running backs,” Halzle said. “Roll guys through, let guys keep playing. We feel really confident with that whole core.”

Bru McCoy and Ramel Keyton come back as the Vols’ top returning receivers from a season ago, as McCoy ranked second on the team in receptions and yards ending the year with 52 catches for 667 yards and four scores. McCoy is a bruiser standing at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds making him a tough man to tackle when the ball is in his hands similar to a running back.

Keyton on the other hand showed off his speed last season, hauling in 31 receptions for 562 yards and five touchdowns while averaging an impressive 18.1 yards per catch last season, ranking less than a yard behind Hyatt for the team lead.

But there’s plenty of speed to go around in the Vols’ wideout room, as Squirrel White also returns following a freshman season where he displayed his top-notch speed in flashes. He secured five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in the Vols’ lopsided Week 8 win over Tennessee-Martin, but really showed out in the Orange Bowl.

White stepped up big for an undermanned wide receiver group missing Hyatt and Tillman, hauling in nine catches for 108 yards and a touchdown. The former high school sprinter led all SEC freshmen in explosive receiving plays in 2022, posting six catches of 30+ yards, six catches of 40+ yards, four catches of 50+ yards, and two receptions of 60+ yards in his limited snaps.

Tennessee also added a new target for quarterback Joe Milton through the transfer portal this offseason, adding former Oregon receiver Dont’e Thornton to their roster as well. Thorton adds more size, speed, and proven production to the team’s receiving corps listed at 6-foot-4, 214 pounds and recording 26 catches for 541 yards and three touchdowns in his 25 games played in with the Ducks the past two seasons.

The Vols boasted college football’s best offensive attack last season, leading the country in points and yards per game and ranking No. 5 in passing yards per game. And this season, they’ll look to do the same with a slightly different cast of characters under a new offensive coordinator.