Willie Martinez explains the difficulty of facing Tennessee receiver Chris Brazzell in practice
Willie Martinez was asked about nearly all of his Tennessee defensive backs after practice on Monday. From freshman Boo Carter to redshirt senior Will Brooks. About the fallout from the season-ending knee injury to sophomore Jourdan Thomas and who could play the Star position in wake of the injury.
Then Tennessee’s secondary coach was asked about the other side of the ball. Not about a player he coaches, but about one his players have to face each day in practice.
What kind of challenge has it been trying to guard Chris Brazzell, the Tulane transfer receiver each day in practice?
“His speed, his competitiveness,” Martinez said. “Braz is very competitive and plays with a lot of fire and energy. We better do that on our side of the ball, right? I mean that’s what — got to have great energy and stuff like that, but a very competitive, high-level player, so that’s only going to make us better.”
Chris Brazzell at Tulane last season: 44 catches, 771 yards, 5 TDs
Brazzell caught 44 passes for 771 yards and five touchdowns during his breakout sophomore season at Tulane a year ago. He was ranked No. 18 among transfer wide receivers in the 2024 class and was No. 97 overall in the portal according to the On3 rankings.
Now at Tennessee he adds to a deep, talented and veteran wide receiver group that returns the likes of Bru McCoy, Squirrel White, Dont’e Thornton, Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb and adds freshmen Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley.
“We got a great group of wide receivers that are going to be playing on Sundays,” Martinez said. “So it’s easy for my job to just tell the kids, ‘Hey man, you want a great resume? Put it on video. Put it on video against these guys that are going to be playing on Sunday.’
“And Braz is one of those guys. Highly competitive, physical player, not very quiet, kind of cool, that’s how we like it. But he’s making us better.”
Chris Brazzell is ‘dialed in’ during Tennessee fall camp
Brazzell made his unofficial debut in Tennessee’s Orange and White Game in April, catching four passes for 89 yards, including a 71-yard touchdown in the second half.
Tennessee wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope said last week that Brazzell has been a different player this fall, after making some adjustments in his approach to the game off the field.
“He’s dialed in, man,” Pope said. “Like when he first got here, I don’t think he had a true expectation of what it took in this building and in this league to be successful. And right now he’s in a really good spot. He’s dialed in. He’s getting extra meetings, he’s getting extra film, like he’s doing a great job of preparing.
“And I think as long as he does that and continues to do that, he’ll give himself a shot, right? We still got to obviously make plays on Saturday, but as long as you prepare the right way, you always give yourself a shot to be successful. He’s doing that right now. I’m pleased with him.”
