WATCH: Nico Iamaleava and newcomers go through bowl practice
Tennessee returned to the practice field on Saturday morning as they prepare for the Orange Bowl on December 30th.
The Vols have 17 early enrollees that begin school next month and 15 of them are in town to go through bowl practice.
The headliner of that group is Nico Iamaleava as the 5-star makes the transition to the college level. A trip of linebackers including the Vols most recent commit, Arion Carter, is in town. Additionally a trio of corners headlined by Jordan Matthews are hoping to get a head start on next season.
In addition to the newcomers, Tennessee and its current team are focused on getting their 11th win of the season.
Bru McCoy was at practice on Saturday morning after he was unavailable for the Vanderbilt game. The Vols will need him as Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt have both opted out of the bowl game.
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After an historic season that included becoming the first Tennessee player to win the Biletnikoff Award, Hyatt announced 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.
Tillman burst on the scene in 2021 with a break out season in year one of the Josh Heupel era on Rocky Top. Tillman led the Vols with 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns on a team high 64 catches. Tillman averaged 16.9 yards per reception and he told the coaches following the Florida game that he wanted to be the go-to guy in the offense as the Vols adjusted to a new system.
The Vols will rely heavily on Squirrel White, Chas Nimrod and Walker Merrill to fill the void left by Tillman and Hyatt.
Get a look at what the newest Vols and the current team look like in the video below.
