Tennessee football: Ranking transfers by performance in 2021
Wide receiver. Senior. player. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. JaVonta Payton. 2
Previous school: Mississippi State Bulldogs
We already talked about Velus Jones Jr., and Cedric Tillman became the breakout receiver for Tennessee football. However, nobody had a greater impact per touch on the year than JaVonta Payton, and Josh Heupel will have a tough time replacing his insane production.
As the No. 2 wideout and the No. 3 receiver overall, Payton finished the season with 414 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Here’s the kicker, though. He did all of that on just 18 catches. Nobody had a more unique skill at getting the ball into the end zone once they came down with the catch, and at just 6’1″ 180 pounds, Payton’s was incredibly unique.
In two years playing with Mississippi State, Payton had a total of 28 catches for 372 yards and one touchdown. He had gone there after two years in junior college at Northwest Mississippi Community College. However, he was initially from Nashville, Tenn., so he was another big pickup for Heupel and his staff in early May.
Given those four years, Payton won’t be eligible to return next year, and finding the wideout to replace him as the complement to Tillman will be as tough as finding the speedy wide receiver to replace Jones. That’s what spring practice will be fore, but both were huge assets to Tennessee football’s offense this past year.