Looking back at the most explosive Tennessee touchdowns during the Josh Heupel era

Josh Heupel’s uptempo offense is known for being explosive. But just how explosive? In 26 games as Tennessee’s head coach, the Vols have scored 31 touchdowns of 40 or more yards under Heupel. 

There have been four other plays — two special teams touchdowns and two interceptions returned for touchdowns — giving Tennessee 35 scoring plays in total of 40 or more yards. The Vols have scored 24 touchdowns covering 50 or more yards, 14 touchdowns of 60 or more yards, nine touchdowns of 70 or more yards, four of 80 or more yards and of 90-plus yards.

Six of the 35 touchdowns covering 40 or more yards were run plays and 25 were pass plays. Jalin Hyatt accounted for eight of them and Cedric Tillman had five of his own.

To celebrate July 4th, here’s a look back at the most explosive touchdowns during the first two seasons under Heupel:

96: Against South Alabama in 2021, Velus Jones Jr. built Tennessee’s lead to 35-7 after taking a kickoff back 96 yards for a touchdown with 1:18 left in the second quarter. It was a third touchdown for the Vols in just over nine minutes to blow the game open in what ultimately was a 60-14 win.

92: Tiyon Evans was untouched up the middle on a 92-yard touchdown run at Missouri in 2021, as Tennessee was on its way to a 62-24 win in Columbia, scoring 45 points in the first half alone. Evans carried 15 times for 157 yards and three touchdowns.

83: Jaylen Wright’s 83-yard touchdown run at Vanderbilt in November was one of five Tennessee touchdowns that covered 50 or more yards in the 56-0 blowout. The Vols rushed for 375 yards and six touchdowns as a team. Wright had 160 yards and two touchdowns … on five carries.

80: Less than four minutes after Jaylen Wright went 83 yards for a touchdown at Vanderbilt, Dylan Sampson went 80 yards for his own score. Both touchdowns were on the first play of their respective possessions and set a new Tennessee football record, with the Vols accounting for two runs of 80 or more yards in the same game for the first time in program history. Sampson’s was the exclamation point on a 56-0 win in Nashville and gave him 131 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries. 

78: Jalin Hyatt caught five touchdown passes against Alabama in the thrilling 52-49 win in October, but his 78-yarder in the opening minute of the fourth quarter put Tennessee back ahead 42-35, after Alabama had taken its first lead, at 35-34, with 4:27 left in the third quarter.

75: JaVonta Payton went 75 yards on a touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker at Florida in 2021 to put the Vols up 14-10 early in the second quarter.

75: JaVonta Payton opened the scoring at Kentucky in 2021 with a 75-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker just 11 seconds into the game. 

73: Dee Williams broke free and took a punt back 73 yards for a touchdown at Vanderbilt in November, putting the Vols up 21-0 midway through the second quarter. 

72: Remember that 75-yard JaVonta Payton touchdown on Play No. 1 at Kentucky in 2021? Velus Jones Jr. followed it with a 72-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker later in the first quarter.

70: Cedric Tillman and Hendon Hooker caught the Alabama defense napping in Tuscaloosa in 2021, connecting on a 70-yard touchdown to pull Tennessee within 31-24 with 14:30 left in the game.

68: Jalin Hyatt hauled in a 68-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker against Missouri in November, putting Tennessee up 35-24 midway through the third quarter. The Vols outscored Mizzou 38-7 in the second half, winning 66-24 at Neyland Stadium. 

66: Jalin Hyatt caught a 66-yard touchdown pass from … part-time tight end and part-time fullback Princeton Fant against UT Martin in October. Fant added two short touchdown runs in the 65-24 win on Homecoming in Knoxville.

64: Squirrel White added a 64-yard touchdown catch from Joe Milton III early in the fourth quarter against UT Martin. Even mop-up duty can be explosive Josh Heupel’s offense.

61: Cedric Tillman caught a 61-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker in the first quarter of the Music City Bowl against Purdue in 2021. It was his second long touchdown catch of the opening quarter, after opening the scoring with a 41-yarder. He finished the game with 150 yards and three touchdowns on seven catches. In the process he became the first Tennessee receiver since Justin Hunter to go over 1,000 yards in a season.

60: Jalin Hyatt’s 60-yard touchdown catch from Hendon Hooker against Alabama in October was the third of his program-record five touchdowns in the game, putting the Vols up 34-28 with 10:16 left in the third quarter. The touchdown was a response to Alabama tying the game 55 seconds earlier.

57: Jalin Hyatt caught a 57-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker to give Tennessee a 21-0 lead against Akron in September, on the way to a 63-6 win.

57: Ramel Keyton added a second 57-yard touchdown against Akron, catching a pass from Joe Milton III on the final play of the third quarterback, making it a 49-3 Tennessee lead.

57: JaVonta Payton’s 57-yard touchdown catch from Hendon Hooker put Tennessee up 14-7 at Alabama in 2021 with 26 seconds left in the first quarter. 

56: Alontae Taylor’s 56-yard interception return for a touchdown at Kentucky in 2021 gave Tennessee a 38-28 lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter, with the Vols on their way to a 45-42 win.

55: Jalin Hyatt kept getting wide open in 2022, including a 55-yarder against Kentucky on October 29, putting Tennessee up 7-0 less than 90 seconds into the game. It set the tone in a 44-6 win.

55: Theo Jackson opened the scoring against Vanderbilt in 2021 with an interception returned 55 yards for a touchdown. Tennessee won 45-21 to finish the regular season with a 7-5 record.

53: Jimmy Holiday caught a 53-yard touchdown from Joe Milton III in the fourth quarter against Ball State in the 2022 season-opener in September, the final points in the 59-10 win.

52: Jabari Small’s 52-yard touchdown run at Vanderbilt in November was the first of four touchdown runs that went for fifty or more yards … in the second half alone.

50: Jaylen Wright’s 50-yard touchdown run at Vanderbilt in November came just one minute, 17 seconds after Small’s 52-yard touchdown run. Jaylen Wright’s 83-yard touchdown run and Dylan Sampson’s 80-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter came less than four minutes apart. 

48: Jalin Hyatt’s 48-yard touchdown catch against Akron in September was his second touchdown of 40 or more yards in the first half. He had five catches for 166 yards and two touchdowns in the 63-6 win.

47: Tiyon Evans caught a 47-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker midway through the first quarter at Florida in 2021 to tie the game at 7-7.

46: Jalin Hyatt opted out to prepare for the NFL Draft. Hendon Hooker was out with a torn ACL. But Ramel Keyton still hooked up with Joe Milton III for a 46-yard touchdown against Clemson in the Orange Bowl, putting Tennessee up 28-14 midway through the fourth quarter.

46: Cedric Tillman’s 46-yard touchdown catch 33 seconds into the third quarter against Vanderbilt in 2021 put Tennessee up 31-7. Tillman caught six passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns.

45: Hendon Hooker placed a perfect 46-yard touchdown pass in the arms of a streaking Jalin Hyatt in the end zone at LSU in October, putting the Vols up 20-0 in the opening minute of the second quarter inside a stunned Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge.

45: Tiyon Evans had a 45-yard touchdown run against South Carolina in 2021 to put Tennessee up 35-0 in a first-half romp, on the way to a 45-20 win in Knoxville. Evans carried 16 times for 119 yards and a touchdown in the win and the Vols rushed 49 times for 272 yards and three touchdowns as a team.

45: Velus Jones Jr. caught a 45-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker during a 56-0 win over Tennessee Tech in 2021. 

44: Jimmy Calloway’s 44-yard touchdown pass from Hendon Hooker against Pitt in 2021 was Hooker’s first after entering the game for an injured Joe Milton III. The rest was history. 

41: Princeton Fant’s 41-yard touchdown catch from Hendon Hooker was one of the only highlights in Tennessee’s loss at South Carolina in November. 

41: Cedric Tillman’s 41-yard touchdown in the Music City Bowl against Purdue was the first of his two touchdowns of 40-plus yards in the first quarter alone. He added a 13-yard touchdown catch with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter. 

40: Cedric Tillman’s 40-yard touchdown catch from Joe Milton III against Bowling Green in the 2021 season-opener was the first touchdown of 40 or more yards during the Josh Heupel era.