South Carolina cornerback just gave Vols WR Jalin Hyatt plenty of motivation
Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft later this week, didn't really have any "bad" games at UT in 2022. Hyatt had several monster games (he was on fire the entire month of October), and then a few games that could be considered "average". One of those […]
Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt, a potential first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft later this week, didn't really have any "bad" games at UT in 2022.
Hyatt had several monster games (he was on fire the entire month of October), and then a few games that could be considered "average".
One of those games was against the South Carolina Gamecocks. Hyatt caught just six passes for 65 yards and zero touchdowns in Tennessee's shocking loss to the Gamecocks last November.
Six receptions for 65 yards hardly qualifies as a bad game in the SEC. But considering the way Hyatt dominated teams like Alabama and Kentucky, it was a bit of a surprise that he didn't find more success against South Carolina. The main reason that Hyatt didn't generate any splash plays against the Gamecocks was because of South Carolina cornerback Cam Smith, who is also a potential early-round draft pick this week.
Smith, who caught some grief before playing Tennessee for saying he liked his odds against Hyatt, defended the superstar wide receiver most of the night. And he was able to limit Hyatt's explosiveness by playing man coverage. Smith's approach was to keep everything in front of him and tackle well after the catch.
The Gamecocks cornerback, who grew up just minutes away from Hyatt in South Carolina, recently spoke to Saturday Down South about defending Hyatt this past season. And Smith made it clear that he feels like he got the best of Hyatt.
“Him not getting any (yards after catch), it was kinda getting in his head because he’s not used to that type of thing,” said Smith on the Saturday Down South podcast. “Coming in, I was just trying to make sure I make every tackle after the catch. I know I’m not gonna be breaking every ball up the way I was playing it, so it was just every tackle, making sure I was being aggressive and making sure he feels me on every one of them…I do feel like I got the better of (Hyatt) in that situation.”
It's hard to argue against Smith's comments. He went into that game with a plan and he executed it. He knew he wasn't going to completely shut Hyatt down, but Smith felt he could prevent the explosive plays. And he did.
Ultimately, it was just two good players going at it. Smith accomplished his goal against Hyatt on that particular day, but that doesn't mean Hyatt is overrated or anything close to that. That's just how it goes in sports sometimes. Hyatt will get chances in the NFL to prove he's an elite player. And he might even get another shot at Smith, depending on where the two players land in the draft this week.
Smith earned the right to talk some trash, but he needs to remember that he'll be tested every Sunday once he gets to the NFL. And there will be plenty of weeks where he doesn't look nearly as good as he did against Hyatt last November.
As for Hyatt, he should take Smith's comments and use them as fuel. Motivation can be a powerful thing and Hyatt received plenty of it this week from Cam Smith.
