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Tennessee Vols Should Officially Surrender Wide Receiver U Title

By Caleb Calhoun

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After falling to 2-3 on the year with a 24-20 loss to Arkansas, the Tennessee Vols showed why they are no longer Wide Receiver U.

Back in the offseason, the Clemson Tigers began promoting themselves as Wide Receiver U. The move was a direct shot at the Tennessee Vols, and despite the high-powered offenses Dabo Swinney’s teams have picked up, Butch Jones and Tennessee rightfully responded.

Wide Receiver U is a title Tennessee has held since the 1980s. Willie Gault, Alvin Harper, Carl Pickens, Peerless Price, David Martin, Cedric Wilson, and even Donte Stallworth, Kelley Washington, Robert Meachem, and Justin Hunter and Cordarelle Patterson have validated that title.

It was not something Clemson could just take away. But through three games this season, they now can.

In fact, Tennessee should willfully give it away.

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Through five games this season, the Vols have shown no reason at all to be Wide Receiver U. Highly touted recruits like Preston Williams, Von Pearson, Josh Malone, Marquez North, and Pig Howard were supposed to make up a loaded class, and Jauan Jennings’s conversion to the position was only supposed to add to its depth.

All of these guys totaled 76 yards Saturday against Arkansas. To be fair, North and Howard were hurt. But the numbers were worse the week before against Florida. And they were no better against Oklahoma.

The top four receivers for the Vols against the Razorbacks? Jalen Hurd with 51 yards, Alvin Kamara with 40 yards, Ethan Wolf with 31 yards, and Josh Smith with 34 yards. That’s two running backs, a tight end, and a three-star receiver leading a pack of blue-chip recruits.

On one drive, Pearson and Williams both had drops. On another, Malone could not make a fourth down play down the sidelines.

Yes, Joshua Dobbs is not the most accurate quarterback. But he is a dual-threat guy. Tennessee recruited these receivers to make up for that lack of accuracy. And they have shown no sign of doing that.

So whether or not Clemson should get the title of Wide Receiver U is up for debate. But it is evidently clear that the Vols have lost the title under Butch Jones and Mike DeBord. They are five games into the year with a junior quarterback and an elite running game and still have not found a go-to player.

So it’s over. The embarrassment against the Razorbacks was the final straw. This unit has under-achieved far too much through five games for that title, and something Tennessee has spent 30 years building is now down the drain.

Wide Receiver U is no more. And Vol Nation has nobody to thank but this batch of under-achievers.

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