The Tennessee Volunteers had all the issues of quarterback consistency, offensive line strength and mostly the wide receiver group that most national analysts had before the 2025 college football season started.
The loss of multiple receivers through the transfer portal and the Vols losing its best target Dont’e Thornton to the Las Vegas Raiders left it to be questioned whether the Vols possessed enough power on the outside.
However, in five games, the doubts have been rapidly quenched by Tennessee in the young receiving corps. Chris Brazzell, Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley have become one of the most effective trio in the SEC.
The team is headed by Brazzell who has received a total of 531 yards and seven goals. Matthews is a freshman, who has made 370 yards and two points and Staley has made 322 yards and two points. Not bad considering that many felt that this would be a weakness in the unit.
Even national commentator Ari Wasserman of On3 acknowledges that he was wrong. Talking about Andy and Ari, Wasserman stated, “Our first Tennessee talking point of the off season the question mark at receiver – it is going well. They have two guys who are at high level of production.
He complimented Brazzell and Matthews specifically, evidently saying that they are legitimate studs and that they are always getting open down the field, which Tennessee offense failed to achieve last year.
It is satisfying to have a national analyst buy an off-season flop. Anyhow, it is not easy to predict college football. Not only the receivers of the Vols have proven the critics wrong, but they have also become one of the largest strengths of the team in the year 2025.
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