Josh Malone’s freshman season hasn’t been what most folks expected.
The true freshman from Gallatin, TN looked like he was poised to breakout after a five catch, 75 yard performance against Ole Miss in mid October.
But then Malone hit a wall, catching only three passes for 18 yards the rest of the season (one of those three catches was his only touchdown of the season). Malone finished the regular season with 22 catches for 227 yards and the aforementioned score.
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The expectations for Malone, heading into the season, were quite high. That’s because Malone peaked before the season even began, catching six passes for 181 yards and three touchdowns in Tennessee’s spring game.
Fans, understandably, were expecting more of that during the regular season.
On Sunday, we learned that a groin injury hampered Malone throughout much of the season.
Josh Malone said a mid-October groin injury hampered him. 'It was very frustrating. I got slowed down and missed a big year I could've had.'
— Patrick Brown (@pbrown247) December 14, 2014
The good news for Vol fans is that Malone has used the time off to get healthy and is looking like his old self.
JONES: Josh today looked like the Josh Malone we saw in training camp. The time off really helped him heal and recover.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) December 14, 2014
Nothing would be better for Malone than to end the season on a high note with a big performance in the Vols’ bowl game.
A breakout game, in front of a national audience, would give the freshman a ton of confidence heading into the off-season.
There’s no doubt that Malone is one of the hardest workers on the team. There’s also no doubt that he’s one of the most talented.
If Malone can put it all together, and if the Vols can get all of their wide receivers healthy, the rest of the SEC better watch out.
A year of added experience, plus the fact that UT returns all of their wideouts, could make for a very scary wide receivers group.
A lineup of (all healthy of course) Marquez North, Josh Malone, Pig Howard, Josh Smith, Jason Croom etc has to make Vols wide receiver coach Zach Azzanni a very, very happy man.