Tennessee football: 10 toughest Vols to replace for 2020 season

Despite the departures at receiver, Tyler Byrd’s usage rate was low enough that Tennessee football will be able to chug along without him. The only case to make for him being higher would be the fact that the Vols could use him now that they did lose so much other talent, but he just didn’t do enough as a senior to suggest they ever would.

Byrd, to be fair, had one key moment for Rocky Top in 2019, and it was against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. With Jeremy Pruitt’s team clinging to a 13-10 lead, Jarrett Guarantano hit Byrd for a late touchdown that secured their victory, which is one of the things that got them going.

Honestly, it’s actually unfair that he’s down at No. 10. Byrd was stuck in Butch Jones’ system of mismanagement for receivers for two years, then he was moved over to defensive back when Pruitt arrived only to be moved back to receiver, in a new offense, by the time the year started. Then Jim Chaney arrived and purposely shortened the rotation, which left him out.

In another setting, Byrd could have been a great player. He actually does provide a significant amount of speed to the position, which could have opened things up a bit more if he had fully settled into the slot. And he still did provide some value. But it clearly wasn’t enough production to say he will be missed.