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KNOXVILLE - Tennessee completed only three passes of 20 or more yards in its first two games this season.
Freshman wide receiver Preston Williams matched that total by himself in the third contest.
The 6-foot-4 former five-star recruit made a splash by hauling in a 25-yard opening-drive touchdown pass from starting quarterback Josh Dobbs and later caught passes of 49 and 24 yards (the latter his second touchdown) from backup Quinten Dormady in the third quarter of the Volunteers' 55-10 win Saturday night against Western Carolina.
"Actually, he's really good in the intermediate throws: The quick game and curls and outs and comebacks," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "But he's just so long, he can play the ball in the air, and he can run. We're going to need him to continue to progress, and that was great to see with him."
Williams became the first Tennessee freshman with two touchdown catches in a game since Justin Hunter against Ole Miss in 2010.
"He's (tall) and he can run, and he's got good hands," Dormady said after completing 6 of 8 passes for 93 yards. "A big target that can run, that's a good combination. He's a playmaker."
The Vols need more of those in the passing game as Southeastern Conference defenses, starting with Florida on Saturday, gear their game plans to slow running back Jalen Hurd and Tennessee's ground attack.
Tennessee's wobbly passing game showed signs of life against inferior competition as the Vols came out with the clear intention of throwing the ball by passing on 11 of their first 19 snaps against Western Carolina. Dobbs completed 13 of his first 15 passes after going 13-of-31 in the loss to Oklahoma.
"We wanted to get him going," Jones said, "and I thought Josh did a good job of managing the game and making good decisions."
Against the Sooners, Dobbs completed half of his first 18 passes before finishing 4-of-13. Though hurt by a couple of dropped passes, Dobbs completed only three of his final eight passes against the Catamounts, so more consistency is needed.
"After a game like (Oklahoma), you just want to get back on the field and play football again," he said.
The Gators, with an aggressive style and two talented cornerbacks - Vernon Hargreaves III and Jalen Tabor - await the Vols after harassing Kentucky quarterback Patrick Towles into an 8-of-24, 126-yard, two-interception performance Saturday in Lexington.
"We have confidence either way, so it really doesn't matter what play it is," Dobbs said. "We have confidence, and when it's called, we're going to have confidence with the play. It was great to come out tonight, and we executed well."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.