Top Tennessee Vols playmaker makes important announcement that fans have been waiting on
The Tennessee Vols received some important news on Tuesday evening.
The Tennessee Vols received some welcome news on Tuesday evening.
On3’s Pete Nakos reported Tuesday evening that Vols wide receiver Braylon Staley has re-signed with Tennessee.
Staley, a former four-star recruit, is coming off a breakout redshirt freshman season.
The South Carolina native caught 68 passes for 837 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. Staley joined fellow Vols wide receivers Chris Brazzell and Mike Matthews in going over 700 receiving yards last season.
Brazzell is off to the NFL after his incredible 2025 season, which leaves Staley and Matthews as the Vols’ top two wide receivers entering the 2026 season. They’ll be joined by talented second-year receivers Radarious Jackson, Travis Smith, and Joakim Dodson. Additionally, five-star wide receiver Tristen Keys and four-star wide receiver Tyreek King will be true freshmen for the Vols in 2026.
Braylon Staley said he ‘bawled his eyes out’ after Tennessee’s win against Mississippi State
Staley appeared on the Everything Orange podcast in November, and he was asked about his favorite moment so far from the 2025 season.
The former four-star recruit pointed out his third-down catch against Mississippi State that put the Vols in position to tie the game (Tennessee won in overtime).
“Personally, I think the third down catch versus Mississippi State,” said Staley. “Because it obviously started rough for me in the beginning of that game. But I think the receiving room, Chris (Brazzell) and Mike (Matthews), they stayed in my ear on the sideline the whole time. Coach (Kelsey) Pope, obviously, [too]. But I think just staying in the game and staying in the moment helped me a lot. And then when they called my name, I had to be ready to make something happen.
“After that game, I bawled my eyes out because it was my first road game as a starter. And I didn’t want it to go that way. But, you know, things happen. And so, I bawled my eyes out. But I had my guys around me to say, like, ‘You’re good, you made a big catch.’ So I love them boys for that.”
Staley had a rough start to the Mississippi State game — a muffed punt earlier in the game resulted in a critical turnover — but the young Tennessee wide receiver made one of the biggest plays of the game in crunch time. Without that third down conversion, there’s a decent chance Tennessee loses that game.
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