Jalin Hyatt to sit out Orange Bowl, prepare for NFL Draft
One of the best stories in college football this season has been the breakout of Tennessee wide receiver Jalin Hyatt. After an historic season that included becoming the first Tennessee player to win the Biletnikoff Award, the Irmo, S.C. native announced today his intentions to begin preparations for the 2023 NFL Draft and to bypass the Orange Bowl game – forgoing his senior season.
The 6-foot-0, 180-pound speedy wideout led the Southeastern Conference with 67 receptions, 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns this past regular season as a junior. Hyatt is tied with Houston’s Nathaniel Dell for the nation-lead in receiving scores and is third in receiving yards.
In addition to taking home the Biletnikoff Trophy, the junior was also tabbed semifinalist for the Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year.
Coached by first-year assistant Kelsey Pope, Hyatt tallied multiple receptions in every game this season and found the end zone in seven contests. Hyatt recorded five 100-yard receiving games and scored multiple touchdowns on five separate occasions.
It was a great sign early for Hyatt when he scored on Tennessee’s first offensive play from scrimmage in 2022 in week one against Ball State. He followed that with an unbelievable stretch of play in the middle portion of the schedule, scoring multiple touchdowns in four-straight games against LSU, Alabama, UT Martin and Kentucky.
The college football world learned of Hyatt’s name during his coming out party against Alabama on October 15, when Tennessee won at the buzzer 52-49 on a 40-yard field goal from Chase McGrath. Hyatt scored five touchdowns on just six receptions for 207 yards in the outing – cementing his name in record books for all of eternity.
Renewed mindset for Hyatt over the offseason
Prior to his stellar play this season, Hyatt was just a guy for Josh Heupel last season as a sophomore. In fact, he did not crack the starting rotation for the bulk of the season and was used sparingly as a fourth receiver or backup option in the slot to Velus Jones.
“For an athlete and just a competitor, when you’re not out there with your guys every snap or just things like that, it gets to you, and my confidence wasn’t where it was at last year,” Hyatt said back in the spring. “Velus, he helped me along. When he took the slot position [in 2021], he brought me with him and I was just learning from him, learning from what he did in this offense.
“I was struggling with it last year and he wasn’t, so I had to take a step back, just look at how Velus runs his routes, just a lot of things that he’s done here at Tennessee, and that’s what I’ve been trying to do.”
Hyatt combined for 40 receptions, 502 yards and four touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore – across two different coaching staffs prior to this fall.
Hyatt leaves lasting legacy
The wideout played a big role for the nation’s No. 1 offense at 538 yards and 47.3 points per game. Tennessee also broke the program record with 568 points this season. Hyatt concludes his Volunteer career as the single-season receiving touchdown leader with 15 and ranks second, and just 31 yards, behind Robert Meachem’s single season receiving record of 1,298 yards.
