Josh Heupel talks progress of freshman receivers, Jimmy Calloway

Having talented receivers is an important part of Josh Heupel’s offensive plan. The Tennessee football coach runs an up-tempo spread scheme, so having playmakers is an absolute must.

Set to enter his second season in Knoxville, Heupel signed four receivers for the 2022 class in Kaleb Webb, Marquarius “Squirrel” White, Chas Nimrod and Cameron Miller. Although each player has done things individually to stand out so far in spring practice, Heupel said he’s excited about the entire group.

“I think those guys have shown a great ability,” the coach said after a spring scrimmage over the weekend. “Even leading into spring ball, I thought they grasped what we were doing. They spend a ton of extra time inside the building trying understand, see and recognize signals. As a group as a whole, they’ve handled that transition of coming into college football and the transition to the tempo and style of offense we play about as well as any group I’ve ever been around.”

White has already made his presence felt this spring, showing off his speed in a recent practice. A four-star recruit, White ranked as the No. 61 overall receiver in the 2022 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. At just 5-foot-9, 153-pounds, his speed could certainly lead to him being utilized as a true freshman.

The Volunteers won’t be relying on entirely new faces this season, however. Cedric Tillman, who finished this past season with 64 catches for 1,081 yards and 12 touchdowns, is back for another year. Tennessee also returns third-year receiver Jimmy Calloway, who earned praise from Heupel on Saturday.

A former four-star recruit in 2020, Calloway has appeared in only five games across the past two seasons, totaling 104 yards and a touchdown. However, Josh Heupel sees him being one of the more involved receivers in 2022.

“Today was probably his best day on the grass,” the coach said. “You want that in those competitive situations for them to rise to their best performance. Jimmy is so talented. The way he approaches everything in his life on the practice field and in the meeting room is gonna take him to maximizing his talent. He’s a guy that, inside our program, we have high expectations for. He’s gonna continue on that growth and it was great to see him perform the way he did today.”

Tennessee ranked fourth in the SEC in passing offense during Heupel’s inaugural season, and will hope to show even more improvement in Year 2. The Volunteers will get their first opportunity to show off their passing attack when they open the season against Ball State on Sept. 3.