KNOXVILLE — It took just one play for the apathetic pregame vibe that had swirled across the University of Tennessee campus to quickly turn Neyland Stadium into an electric factory. Jaylen Wright’s 75-yard touchdown sprint on the game’s first snap provided the type of offensive sparkle reminiscent of last season’s offensive magic.
But it turned out to be fool’s gold as top-ranked Georgia spent nearly every snap that followed bullying and embarrassing the Volunteers on their home field.
It was a microcosm of the season as the Vols bolted to the promise of early success before ultimately fizzling out as their last chance to make this season anything but forgettable disappeared faster than a three-and-out offensive series — which this year’s unit has become notorious for producing.
It was sometime during the first half, as the inevitable beatdown that loomed was turning into reality, that one inescapable fact became obvious: Much of the help Tennessee needs to be competitive with an elite opponent such as Georgia will not come from the players on the field, but the potential ones sitting in the recruits’ section.
The Vols hosted their largest and most impressive list of high school talent on Saturday, a bona fide sea of stars — dozens of four- and five-star rated players — who as a collective could help close the talent gap.