Tennessee lost several veteran wide receivers from last year’s team that made it to the College Football Playoff.
Redshirt junior Chris Brazzell, in fact, is the Volunteers’ only returning starting wide receiver.As a result, Tennessee will turn to a group of young wide receivers that are extremely talented, albeit inexperienced.
Sophomore Mike Matthews, redshirt freshman Braylon Staley, redshirt freshman Amari Jefferson, and true freshman Travis Smith Jr will all likely be counted on to play key roles for Tennessee in 2025 (defensive back Boo Carter will also see time at wide receiver in 2025).
Staley, specifically, has already caught the eye of VolQuest’s Brent Hubbs during spring practice.
Hubbs, a longtime Vols insider, joined 104.5 The Zone’s Ramon, Kayla, and Will this week and he quickly pointed out Staley as a player that’s impressed him during UT’s first few spring practices.
“Braylon Staley is a guy, for me, that’s kind of stood out,” said Hubbs. “I like him because he catches the ball with his hands. I think he certainly sees an opportunity that he didn’t have a year ago with Squirrel White and other guys that they had that are no longer here. I think he sees this as go time for him. He’s gotten off to a nice start. Mike Matthews has gotten off to a quality start as well.”
Staley, 6-foot/190 lbs from Aiken, SC, is a former four-star recruit who was rated as the No. 15 wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting class (he was also rated as the No. 78 overall player in the nation).
The South Carolina native didn’t see much action for the Vols as a true freshman last season, catching just 3 passes for 21 yards, but he played 51 snaps in Tennessee’s loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the first round of the College Football Playoff. Those 51 snaps in Columbus will be invaluable when it comes to Staley’s continued development.
By the way, if you need a reminder about what kind of talent Staley possesses, just watch this insane catch from last summer that doesn’t even look real.
That’s what elite wide receiver talent looks like.
