Tennessee freshman WR Radarious Jackson sidelined by injury

Tennessee Football freshman receiver Radarious Jackson will be sidelined after being injured in the 44-41 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday at Neyland Stadium.

“He’ll be out this week,” Heupel said Wednesday during the SEC Coaches Teleconference, “and we’ll see where he is the following week.”

Volquest’s Austin Price reported earlier this week that Jackson was expected to miss around a month while dealing with a collarbone injury.

No. 15 Tennessee (2-1) hosts UAB (2-1) on Saturday (12:45 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) at Neyland Stadium. The Vols go to Mississippi State next week for the first true road game of the season.

The first bye week of the season is October 4, followed by a home game on October 11 against Arkansas, then back-to-back road games at Alabama on October 18 and at Kentucky on October 25.

Jackson made his Tennessee debut against Syracuse in the 45-26 win on August 30 in Atlanta, but did not record a catch. He has four catches for 40 yards over the last two games, with a long of 15. He had three catches for 35 yards in the 72-17 win over East Tennessee State on September 6 and had one catch for five yards against Georgia. 

Chris Brazzell II leads Vols in catches, yards, touchdowns

Jackson, along with fellow freshman receiver Travis Smith Jr., are depth pieces at wide receiver for Tennessee this season, playing behind Chris Brazzell II, Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews.

Brazzell has starred through three games, catching 20 passes for 364 yards and five touchdowns, leading Tennessee receivers in all three categories. 

Staley has caught 18 passes for 231 yards and two touchdowns and Matthews has 13 catches for 199 yards and a touchdown. Brazzell had a 72-yard touchdown against Georgia, Staley caught a 73-yard touchdown pass against Syracuse and a 32-yarder against Georgia and Matthews had a 53-yard touchdown against ETSU.

Smith has caught two passes for 20 yards through the first three weeks.

Jackson was a four-star prospect in the 2025 class, ranked No. 170 overall in the Rivals rankings. He was the No. 26 wide receiver in the class and the No. 2 prospect tin the state of Tennessee, out of Sheffield High School in Memphis.

He turned heads last April with four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown in the Orange and White Game. His Neyland Stadium debut in the annual split-squad scrimmage also included a spectacular one-hand catch along the sidelines for 32 yards. 

Updating Tennessee’s injury report through three weeks

Tennessee has been slowed by injuries on both sides of the ball.

Defensive lineman Jaxson Moi was hurt in the first half against Syracuse and hasn’t played since then, while defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs has been sidelined since late in training camp with a foot injury.

Heupel also updated the status of Moi and Hobbs on Monday.

Cornerback Jermod McCoy is still coming back from the torn ACL he suffered while training in January and corner Rickey Gibson III is out an “extended” period of time, per Heupel, with an arm injury.

Five-star freshman right tackle David Sanders Jr. has yet to make his debut while dealing with what Heupel described on Monday as “a unique injury.”

Heupel was asked on Wednesday if Sanders would be available against UAB.

“I don’t know,” Heupel said. “We’ll see. I talked about that on Monday. It’s something where he’s not necessarily in control of it. And when I say that, it’s a unique situation. He’s chomping at the bit. He’s been a great teammate through the adversity.

“It’s another thing that, in particular our young guys have to learn or navigate,” Heupel added. “At some point in this game, everyone gets nicked up. He’s done a great job of mentally staying engaged. As soon as our medical staff clears him, he’ll be ready to go play.”