Tennessee football needs a wide receiver threat to enter the transfer portal

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Bru McCoy settled into a pocket on the Tennessee football sideline Saturday and snagged a pass from Nico Iamaleava.

The play yielded a net gain of 21 yards as the senior wide receiver rushed into his teammates. It was the only passing play that gained more than 20 yards for the Vols, and they never staged an aerial threat against Ohio State.

“All night we didn’t challenge them enough,” Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “We didn’t force them to respect us enough to walk past them to get them to change their ways.”

This wasn’t just a Saturday problem. It was a season-long offensive anchor that lasted the entire time until No. 9 Tennessee (10-3) exited the College Football Playoff with a whimper in an uncompetitive game against No. 8 Ohio State (11). 42:17 lost -2) at Ohio Stadium.

The Vols enter the offseason needing to address their passing attack – and that starts with a long look at the wide receiver group.

Wide receiver needs to be a key transfer portal stop for Tennessee

There was a lot of talk before the season about Tennessee’s range at wide receiver, but that proved to be a miscalculation.

The offense struggled for a variety of reasons, including Iamaleava’s inconsistency and poor play at offensive tackle. These problems flared up at times. The wide receivers rarely inspired confidence.

“We need to find some guys to step up and play, and we will,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said.

Tennessee loses seniors McCoy and Dont’e Thornton. Chris Brazzell II and Squirrel White are the only returning players with more than seven career receptions. Mike Matthews didn’t have the breakthrough as a rookie as expected. Braylon Staley played his fourth game at OSU.

Saturday provided a glimpse of the future at the position when Thornton and White left with injuries in the first half. It wasn’t pretty against an elite defense.

Halzle described the passing problems as being “put in a phone booth” offensively.

“It’s kind of the sum of all the parts,” Halzle said.

OVERREACTIONS:Tennessee has a talent gap problem and further overreaction due to the CFP loss to Ohio State

Tennessee couldn’t force the ball downfield. That hasn’t been possible since Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman led the offense to insane production in 2022.

It needs to reach the portal to get a boost – and it needs to be larger than recent portal additions.

How Tennessee’s secondary overhaul showed a path forward for the wide receiver

Eight defensive backs transferred to Tennessee after last season. It was better for it.

The Vols went into the portal to get Jermod McCoy from Oregon State. He was an All-American opposite Rickey Gibson III, who had a strong first season.

That’s the playbook Tennessee needs to follow at wide receiver in the offseason to give Iamaleava the weapons he needs on offense.

“It’s about taking care of a team around him,” Halzle said. “When you have a quarterback who can do it, it’s our job to make sure we have the skills and the plan to allow him to perform at his best.

Tennessee has four wide receivers enter the portal, including rotation players Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb. Young receivers Nathan Leacock and Nate Spillman also joined after not being included in the group.

The departures mean Tennessee has a chance to bring new talent into the room, something it successfully did in the defensive backfield before this season.

ADAMS:Tennessee football fans take on Ohio State. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case for the Vols

Iamaleava expressed confidence that the “big young space” will continue to move forward. He noted that the Vols are getting some players back.

“We’re just going to try to get better and better in the offseason,” he said.

This should also include the introduction of new options.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @By Mike Wilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you like Mike’s reporting, Consider a digital subscription This gives you access to everything.

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