Joey Halzle says Tennessee wide receivers will be fun to watch
Tennessee may have lost their top dog in the wide receiver room with Jalin Hyatt moving on to the NFL and their offensive coordinator Alex Golesh who is now the head coach at USF, but all is still well in Knoxville.
New offensive coordinator Joey Halzle was hired from within the program after spending two seasons as the Volunteers’ quarterbacks coach. And heading into fall camp, he still feels very confident at the wide receiver position and what his pass catchers bring to the table.
“I think we have elite run-after-catch ability, you’ve got different types of guys,” Halzle said. “You’ve got Squirrel (White) who’s a 10.4 [100m dash] guy, and I might’ve just shorted him his time and how fast he actually ran, but that elite level speed that can run around an entire defense.”
White played in more of a reserve role during his true freshman season with Tennessee last season, but shined when his number was called. He had five catches for 122 yards and a touchdown in the team’s blowout win over Tennessee-Martin, but really showed out in the Vols’ Orange Bowl appearance where he hauled in nine catches for 108 yards and a touchdown, helping Tennessee secure the win over Clemson with an undermanned wideout group. But he’s not the only threat out wide for Tennessee.
“You’ve got Bru (McCoy) that runs the ball like he’s a linebacker. And then you’ve got a bunch of young guys out there who are just ball in hand, lighting quick, can go long speed,” Halzle said.
McCoy is the teams leading returning wide receiver from last season, posting 52 catches for 667 yards and four touchdown grabs last season in his first year with the team after transferring from USC. He returns with more experience along with the explosive Ramel Keyton and the new Oregon transfer Dont’e Thornton, yet another big-bodied wideout that was added to the mix this offseason.
“So there’s been a lot of emphasis on alright, how do we just get these guys the ball?” Halzle asked. “It doesn’t always have to be 50 yards down the field. How do we get them the ball, get them in space, and let them go do their thing? It’s going to be fun to watch.”
It sounds like there are a lot of mouths to feed at the wide receiver spot at Tennessee, which is a good problem to have after the Vols ranked fifth in the nation in passing offense last year. As they look to replicate their tremendous offensive success from last season but with some new pieces to their puzzle.