Tennessee football makes cut for 2023 North Carolina WR Nathan Leacock

With Josh Heupel running the show, Tennessee football is turning into the place to be for wide receivers who want to turn into stars. As a result, it’s no surprise that he has the Vols trending for a 2023 prospect at that position from one state over in North Carolina.

Nathan Leacock, a three-star across the board out of Raleigh, N.C., has included the Vols in his top seven. Coming out of Millbrook High School in Durham County, Leacock would be a wideout, as he stands in the range of 6’3″ and 6’4″ and weighs somewhere from 185 to 200 pounds.

Joining Tennessee football on Leacock’s list are the N.C. State Wolfpack, North Carolina Tar Heels, Mississippi State Bulldogs, West Virginia Mountaineers, Florida Gators and Michigan Wolverines. He announced the schools Monday evening on Twitter.

With Cedric Tillman almost certainly gone after this year, Heupel can’t have too many wideouts. Sure, he has already added a few with elite USC Trojans transfer Bru McCoy and commitments Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod. Walker Merrill and Cameron Miller can also both play the role, and Ramel Keyton should still be in the system in 2023.

That should be enough options to find a replacement for Tillman, but considering the fact that he already has to find a replacement for JaVonta Payton this year at the other wideout spot, the more wideouts he get will be better. He needs all the help he can get.

Nate Spillman is currently the only receiver committed to the Vols for 2023, but to be fair, he is a wideout as well. It’s clear that Heupel, Alex Golesh and new receivers coach Kelsey Pope are specifically targeting guys with size at the wideout spot.

Currently N.C. State is the unanimous favorite on the Rivals Future Cast and has the one 247Sports Crystal Ball prediction for him with a high confidence interval. However, Tennessee football is the majority favorite on the Rivals Fan Future Cast and On3, so the Vols appear to definitely be in play.