Tennessee football receiver has been useless for the Volunteers in 2017. But he still trolled South Carolina cornerback Rashad Fenton.
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Coming off a bye week, Tennessee football is 3-2 and has yet to have a lead in regulation against a Power Five opponent. Their offense has been so abysmal with no help in the passing game that Butch Jones and Larry Scott decided to make a quarterback switch this week as the Vols face the South Carolina Gamecocks.
But somehow, one of the least productive receivers in Tennessee’s anemic passing game this year deemed himself worthy to trash-talk the South Carolina defense. That unproductive receiver is Tyler Byrd.
The 6’0″ 195-pound sophomore took a shot at South Carolina cornerback Rashad Fenton on Twitter Thursday.
I just spent 30 mins trying to book a flight to “Fenton island” no air line recognized that destination I guess it doesn’t exist🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
— Tyler Byrd (@D1fuzzymuffin17) October 12, 2017
In explaining himself, Byrd then sent another tweet about how Fenton is referred to as Fenton Island.
https://t.co/QrdUJ43K1I in case you don’t get it
— Tyler Byrd (@D1fuzzymuffin17) October 12, 2017
Yeah, um, Tyler Byrd, you have a grand total of two receptions on the year for 21 yards. And they both came in one game…against the UMass Minutemen.
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So what the heck are you doing talking trash to anybody?
There are currently two South Carolina defenders with more interception return yards on the year than Byrd has receiving yards! In what stratosphere does he have any right to talk?
Byrd was supposed to break out this year and be a very reliable guy in the slot. He’s been useless! His inability to get separation has been a big reason that the Vols needed to switch from Quinten Dormady to Jarrett Guarantano.
They desperately need a spark in the passing game. Byrd has done nothing to help provide that spark.
Now, to be fair, he has struggled with injuries. But he was healthy by the Florida game. And he had no stat line in that game or against the Georgia Bulldogs. Simply put, he’s done absolutely nothing to help the offense.
And now, with the Vols breaking in a new quarterback this week, he wants to troll one of the most elite defenses in the SEC? This is the kind of thing that is making Tennessee football a laughingstock right now.
In what universe does this make sense?
We have to call out Butch Jones a bit for this. How could he let any of his unproductive receivers talk like that when they’ve been so embarrassing this year?
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This reminds me of 2014, with the Michigan Wolverines were stumbling to a 5-7 season, yet their players planted a stake in the middle of the Michigan State Spartans’ stadium before the game. Michigan State was fighting for a College Football Playoff spot that year. Of course, they won that game 35-11.
That’s the perfect example too, because guess who was head coach of Michigan that year. It was current Tennessee football defensive line coach Brady Hoke.
Now, Hoke is apparently part of another staff that allows for trash-talking without any evidence to back it up.
To be clear, I have no problem with trash talk. Teez Tabor had every right to trash talk the Vols for a year after Florida won its 11th straight over them in 2015. Then Jauan Jennings had every right to respond with trash talk towards Tabor after he torched him in 2016.
But if you’re going to talk, at least have something to talk trash about.
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Byrd has been a big reason for the massive lack of productivity in the Tennessee football passing game so far this year, which ranks No. 91 in the country! He has been a complete waste of offensive space so far. Rather than try to troll a member of Will Muschamp’s elite defense, perhaps he should focus on getting the Vols’ passing attack back to mediocre.