Tennessee began preseason football camp Aug. 5 looking for that third starting receiver to complement returning starters Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley.
Entering Saturday morning’s first scrimmage inside Neyland Stadium, fifth-year receivers coach Kelsey Pope is no closer to having that answer.
“I’m still searching,” Pope said Friday in a news conference. “We’ve got to get consistent right now. It’s literally a search, and if you know something, let me know, because it’s wide open right now. It’s about consistency daily and not being up and down, which is what I’m getting from a bunch of guys right now.
“If they can breathe in that room, then that spot is open for them.”
Vying to become the third starting receiver for the Vols are three second-year players — Joakim Dodson, Radarious Jackson and Travis Smith Jr. — touted early enrollees TK Keys and Tyreek King, and Idaho State transfer Ian Duarte. Dodson played his senior season at Baylor School, amassing 58 receptions for 871 yards and 13 touchdowns for the 2024 Red Raiders.