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Tennessee Football Spring Report: Clear Rotation Appearing to Emerge for Vols at Wide Receiver?

By Caleb Calhoun

Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) catches a pass during warm ups prior to the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 30, 2016; Nashville , TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) catches a pass during warm ups prior to the game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Brown-USA TODAY Sports /
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News from Tennessee football’s spring practices suggests that the Volunteers have a clear depth chart emerging at the wide receiver position.

After losing Josh Malone to the NFL Draft this past year, Tennessee football entered spring practice with only one position clear. That was the Vols’ No. 1 wideout.

Jauan Jennings was clearly going to step into that role barring a crazy injury or a crazy drop in talent. And he has done so. However, the rest of the starting wide receiver rotation was up for grabs.

If you have followed Tennessee football under Butch Jones, you’ll know that last year was the first year he didn’t try to go six-deep at receiver. Jones and Mike DeBord had a clear one-two punch with Jennings and Malone on the outside.

Injuries forced him to mix and match the slot receiver, but the goal was to have two clear wideouts and a clear slot guy.

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You would think Jones and Larry Scott will go for the same thing this year. You would also think that Josh Smith would be the clear slot guy.

After all, he battled injuries last year. Fully healthy, he fits in perfectly. But this spring tells a different story.

With Smith and fellow wide receiver Brandon Johnson out this spring, the other Vols are making the most of their opportunities.

If you’ve listened to Jones, the receivers were the clear winners of their first scrimmage on April 1.

Patrick Brown of GoVols247 has an article about that, which you can read here. 

That story said that Jennings is indeed the undisputed leader of the group. However, it also lists Tyler Byrd, Marquez Callaway, and Latrell Williams specifically as other guys who stepped up.

One of those guys, Callaway, continues to pop up. He also generated headlines specifically from the scrimmage due to amazing catches.

This story by Mike Griffith of SEC Country already suggests he’s a rising star. 

Meanwhile, Byrd and Williams continue to pop up as well.

Maybe all of this is nothing, but it appears that Butch Jones, Larry Scott, and Kevin Beard are already seeing their rotation come together.

Based on these reports, with Jennings as the clear go-to guy, Callaway is beginning to establish himself as the No. 2 wideout on the other side.

And in the slot, Williams and Byrd are both speedy guys. It looks like Byrd could be the starter in the slot while Williams comes off the bench for gadget plays.

That puts pressure on Josh Smith to shine in the Fall to get his job back. Also, Jeff George seems to be slipping out of the rotation as well.

So while it’s still early, a combination of Jennings, Callaway, and Byrd seems to be the main rotation that Jones is going for this season. We have plenty of time to see if that’s how it shakes out.

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