Tennessee Vols coach gives reassuring update about promising young player
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle gave a reassuring update about a promising young player on Tuesday. True freshman wide receiver Nathan Leacock arrived at UT last winter with a significant amount of hype. The 6-foot-3 wide receiver from Raleigh was rated as the No. 13 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 73 […]
Tennessee Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle gave a reassuring update about a promising young player on Tuesday.
True freshman wide receiver Nathan Leacock arrived at UT last winter with a significant amount of hype. The 6-foot-3 wide receiver from Raleigh was rated as the No. 13 wide receiver in the nation and the No. 73 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.
Leacock, however, hasn't been a factor for Tennessee through the first five games of the season.
A true freshman not being a factor early in his career shouldn't be a concern. And I don't think it is with Leacock at all — especially in Tennessee's unique offense that can take some time to pick up. But inevitably there will be some questions about a highly touted player if they don't contribute immediately.
On Tuesday, Halzle was asked about Leacock and he expressed confidence that the former four-star recruit has an elite skill set that will show itself soon.
"He has a unique skill set of size and speed," said Halzle. "As he's been working back, he actually had a really good day at practice today, too — which was fun to watch. It's just been learning our system and going through it. I think a lot of times with freshman, people forget that they're young, they're freshmen, some people aren't ready in year one."
"He's working to get himself ready because we still got a long run on the back end of this season," added Halzle. "So hats off to him for not saying 'it's not my year'. He is still working. He's trying to get himself on the field. He just hasn't broken through that yet, but he's doing a really good job of pushing to get there."
Everyone develops at a different pace. And just because Leacock hasn't made an impact in the first part of the season doesn't mean that he won't in the second half of the season. With Bru McCoy sidelined for the rest of the season and Dont'e Thornton also still "figuring out" the offense, there will be opportunities for young players to step up. Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod, both redshirt freshmen, will get those chances first. But Leacock's chance could be coming soon — especially considering the work he's continuing to put in while working hard to get onto the field.
The game plan the Tennessee Vols will need to use to beat Texas A&M is obvious
The Vols and the Aggies will face off on Saturday in Neyland Stadium
