Receivers coach Zach Azzanni watches the Orange and White game at Neyland Stadium in this file photo.KNOXVILLE - Through all of the injuries and bumps in the road, Zach Azzanni's weekly objective for Tennessee's wide receivers has remained the same.
With the cast seemingly changing every Saturday, it's now paying off in production by a different player every week.
Though the Volunteers have dealt with injuries to perhaps their four best wideouts at some point during the course of this season, Azzanni's unit is seeing an emphasis on making improvements each week pay off and playing well heading into Saturday night's visit from 19th-ranked Missouri.
As rewarding it is for Azzanni, it's even more significant for his players.
"It's good for them to see, hey, you keep working hard and good things are going to happen," he said after Wednesday's practice. "Just keep working hard, and your number will get called eventually one of these times if you just keep working. It's happened all season with everybody.
"They're all buying in and believing that, hey, just keep working hard, just keep coming to work and all the sudden, something's going to happen. You're going to be in the game plan a lot because of an injury, because of this or that and make your time count. They're all doing that."
It's been a injury-riddled campaign for arguably Tennessee's most talented position group.
Von Pearson suffered an injury five quarters into the season, and the exciting junior college transfer is just now getting back to health. Tennessee has been without Josh Smith since the third game of the season. Five-star freshman Josh Malone and talented sophomore Marquez North have battled shoulder issues lately.
Despite North going without a catch, Smith undergoing surgery and Malone quiet, the Vols have thrown for nearly 600 yards during their offensive revival the past two games.
"We've got a lot of talent in our room," receiver Jason Croom said. "One person comes off the field, we've got somebody else that can come in and fill in and take over that spot.
"As the season's gone on, we've found ways to improve each week. We're just more comfortable with the offense and just studying film. We're able to do what we have to on Saturday nights."
In the comeback win at South Carolina, Pig Howard caught five passes for 109 yards and Croom hauled in the tying touchdown with 11 seconds left.
Against Kentucky, Croom caught a 32-yard pass to set up a field goal, dragged three Wildcats 5 yards to pick up a first down and raced 52 yards to the end zone on a bubble screen.
Healthier now, Pearson has three touchdown catches in the last three games.
"We demand more because there's some talented players there," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "But with all the injuries and all the different minor setbacks week in and week out and their consistency in approach, our style of play has not changed no matter who's been on the field.
"That's what we talk about is the name on the back of the jersey may change, but the standard and the expectations of every position does not change. It's up to them to uphold that standard, and they've taken tremendous pride in upholding that standard of what we call, 'Wide Receiver U.' They own that, and they take great pride in that."
Azzanni, whose coaching stops include Wisconsin, Florida, Central Michigan, Western Kentucky and Bowling Green, said he felt there were only a couple of frustrating weeks where his receivers weren't meeting his improve-this-week standard, and he recalled see articles asking, 'What's wrong with the wideouts?' during that stretch.
"I just know we keep coming in to work every day," he said. "(We) just keep developing habits, developing habits, developing habits. All the sudden, you're going to see them grow."
It's come the last few games, a credit to the players' work and Azzanni's coaching ability.
"He's always trying to find a way to get everything he can out of us," Croom said. "He's always pushing himself. Him seeing us get better lets him know he's one of the best coaches of the wide receiver position."
Of course, Azzanni's mantra remains the same even when his receivers are playing well.
"They're playing well, but I tell them like this, 'Congratulations, you've won five games. What do you want?'" he said. "I'm used to Rose Bowls and Sugar Bowls and All-SEC performers. Let's not smoke cigars yet. We've got so much in front of us, so much to do. We've got an unbelievable Missouri secondary coming in here that wants to rip our heads off.
"We've just got to keep our heads down and keep plugging. No one's won the Biletnikoff (Award). No one's 12-0 and going to the playoffs. We've won fives games, and we're just chipping away at being better. That's all we're going to do: Improvement each week."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.