'Hard to keep everyone happy at that position' – Josh Heupel says the quiet part out loud about Tennessee Vols' recent mass roster departure
The Tennessee Vols had a mass exodus in their wide receiver room in the days and weeks following the team's win over Vanderbilt to clinch the program's first-ever spot in the College Football Playoff. With Bru McCoy and Dont'e Thornton, Jr. off to the NFL, opportunity seemed to be there for young players to step […]
The Tennessee Vols had a mass exodus in their wide receiver room in the days and weeks following the team's win over Vanderbilt to clinch the program's first-ever spot in the College Football Playoff.
With Bru McCoy and Dont'e Thornton, Jr. off to the NFL, opportunity seemed to be there for young players to step up and see an increase in playing time. Still, Tennessee ended up with five receivers hitting the portal in Chas Nimrod, Kaleb Webb, Nathan Leacock, Nate Spillman, and Squirrel White.
Josh Heupel was asked at his press conference on Monday if he had any concerns about his numbers at the wide receiver position, and after hitting the reporter with a good-natured tongue-in-cheek response – "you want to come try out here?" – he mentioned something that isn't uncommon with wide receivers – being able to keep them all pleased
"Ultimately, it's always about the guys in the room. A year ago, we had some guys that departed through the transfer portal. Hard to keep everybody happy at that position. I love the group that we've got. As a staff, you always evaluate where you're at on the back end of spring ball, and we'll certainly do that, but I do really like the guys that we've got in there. How they work. How they compete. How they're trying to grow – that's on the practice field, that's outside of it. I like what they've done through the course of spring ball, too."
It's undoubtedly a different world now with NIL and programs poaching other players. Until the NCAA, federal government, and/or the conferences step in and formulate some kind of regulations to keep this practice from happening, it's not going to stop.
Still, losing five players in the span of a few weeks is pretty alarming, and Heupel's stance was that it was hard to keep them all happy. On one hand, it is a tougher position to spread out playing time, as opposed to positions where you have to rotate guys more, such as along the defensive front.
However, there were at least two starting spots opening up, and players like Webb and Nimrod saw the field a decent bit for being reserve underclassmen. But now, with NIL being a factor, coaches have to worry about keeping players happy on the field and in their bank accounts. The latter wasn't specified as a reason by Heupel, but it's impossible to disregard given the state of the world of collegiate athletics.
Fortunately, Tennessee managed to keep Mike Matthews from leaving, who was also apparently primed to transfer. Between Matthews, Braylon Staley, freshman Travis Smith, and Chris Brazzell II, the Vols still have some significant potential young talent in their wide receiver room.
We'll see if Heupel can find a way to keep this group happy in what Tennessee fans hope is a step forward from what was an often-disjoined passing attack in 2024.
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