‘We’ve got something that most people are going to wish they had’ – Tennessee made an interesting decision with dynamic true freshman
The Tennessee Volunteers moved a very intriguing athlete to cornerback.
One of the Tennessee Vols’ most athletic true freshmen may be settling in on a permanent position in the secondary.
When the Volunteers were recruiting 2026 four-star athlete Joel Wyatt, there was a lot of uncertainty about which position he would play at the next level.
Some thought that Wyatt, 6-foot-4/210 pounds, should play wide receiver in college. Others thought he’d end up as an outside linebacker.
Tennessee, in fact, initially recruited Wyatt as an edge rusher before agreeing to start him at safety.
After working at safety in spring practice, Wyatt is now getting some work at cornerback.
And Vols cornerbacks coach Derek Jones thinks Tennessee may have something special.
“At the time, we had a lot of numbers at safety, and we didn’t have a lot of numbers at corner,” said Jones when asked about Wyatt getting reps at cornerback. “We didn’t have a lot of depth. And I’m just sitting there every day, he’s a young kid, and in the system, you have to know at safety exactly what to do. The safeties are telling the corners what to do. And if you don’t quite know what to do, it limits you from being able to play fast and play aggressive and play natural.
“But I’m looking at the kid out there, the way he runs. Again, as a corners coach, you dream of having somebody with that arm length, that wingspan, and that athleticism. So I just went to Coach (Jim) Knowles one day and was like, ‘Hey man, do you mind if I take this guy for a couple of days and see if I can do something with him?’ And at that point in time, he wasn’t in our two-man rotation at safety. So Coach Knowles was on the same page with me, and so was Coach (Anthony) Poindexter. And once we got him out there, I think we all agreed that with some time and learning to play the position and understanding the ins and outs of it, I think we’ve got something that most people are going to wish they had.”
It’s unclear if Wyatt is going to stick exclusively at cornerback. But that’s not really the point. The point is that Tennessee clearly has a player in Wyatt who they believe can be an elite difference maker in the SEC. His size and speed combined with his ability to play in the secondary could give the Vols a defensive weapon that, as Jones said, a lot of other teams wish they had.
