After Tennessee football lured Dominick Wood-Anderson, a four-star junior college transfer in the 2018 recruiting class, away from Nick Saban and the Alabama Crimson Tide, expectations were sky-high. Wood-Anderson is primarily a receiving tight end but stands at 6’4″ 257 pounds. He’s the perfect type of tight end to become a star.
However, Tyson Helton’s system and the horrendous blocking limited his stats to 17 receptions for 140 yards and two touchdowns. Assuming the blocking is just slightly better, the return of Jim Chaney as offensive coordinator should allow Wood-Anderson’s stats to explode. Jeremy Pruitt’s love for multiple tight ends could be a drawback, but Wood-Anderson is the one to get the targets.
The last time Chaney was on Rocky Top, he orchestrated a record-setting pass offense, and he showed his love for receiving tight ends by going to Mychal Rivera a lot. Wood-Anderson is one of those receiving tight ends with way more size. As a result, expect Chaney to target him a lot. In the process, Wood-Anderson should get a ton of national recognition.
All-conference and All-American honors, along with individual trophies, usually only recognize tight ends who can rack up receiving yards since blocking can’t be measured. That favors Wood-Anderson and is a reason we have him on this list. After all, he’s got the size of a blocking tight end but the talent of a receiving tight end. Combined with Chaney, he should be dominant.