KNOXVILLE - During his midweek interviews this season, Josh Malone always looked and sounded like he was still sleepy, as if he had just woken up from a nap.
The Tennessee junior wide receiver has had no problems waking up on Saturdays, though.
Malone has become the go-to receiver and big-play threat for the 17th-ranked Volunteers, and with one touchdown catch against Vanderbilt in the regular-season finale he can become the first Tennessee receiver with double-digit touchdown catches in a season since Robert Meachem caught 11 in 2006.
It's the breakout season many have been waiting for the former five-star recruit to have, though his obvious improvement and increased production hasn't surprised those close to Malone.
"I've expected him to come out and play well each week in and week out," quarterback Josh Dobbs said. "He's fast, he's explosive, he's physical on the line and has great hands. He has it all to be a great receiver, and he's definitely shown that throughout the season.
"I was definitely hard on him, pushing him throughout the offseason - at the end of last season, the offseason, the beginning of this season - to be a big threat for us and to make big plays for us throughout the season. He definitely has answered the bell and has done that throughout the year."
For various reasons it didn't click for Malone in his freshman and sophomore seasons. Following a mini-breakout in the loss at Ole Miss, injuries and discontent derailed his first season. In 2015 Malone narrowly missed leading Tennessee in receiving, though he caught 31 passes (third on the team) for 405 yards (second) with just two touchdowns.
This season Malone has 738 yards and nine touchdowns, easily the most production by any wide receiver in head coach Butch Jones's four-year tenure.
Entering the final week of the regular season, Malone's nine touchdown catches, the most by a Vols since Justin Hunter in 2012, were tied with Texas A&M's Josh Reynolds for the second-most in the SEC behind Mississippi State's Fred Ross.
All of Malone's nine touchdowns have been of at least 20 yards or more. Six have been of 38 yards or more. He caught five touchdowns in Tennessee's first four games, didn't catch one for four games and hauled in four in the past three games.
His 19.2-yard per-catch average ranked second in the conference and 17th nationally.
"Josh has worked exceptionally hard," Jones said. "I give him a lot of credit. You look at - and him and I spoke about this yesterday - you look at his progression in high school, from his freshman to his sophomore to his junior year to his senior season. Now you look at his progression from year one to year two to year three. He continues to get better.
"He's obviously very, very competitive (with) the internal drive to be good at everything that he does. It's a tribute to his hard work. I think he has a lot of confidence right now. He'll be even better next year, and he needs that next year to be able to continue to grow and develop and continue to work his craft.
"Josh Malone has come as far as anyone in our football program, and I think that's attributed to his character, his competitive character and his work ethic."
The 6-foot-3, 200-pound Malone is expected, at the very least, to explore his options regarding the NFL draft after the season. As a couple of his teammates did last season, he'll likely submit paperwork to the NFL Draft Advisory Board and receive an evaluation and draft grade. With just one year of eligibility left Malone has nothing to lose in doing so.
"I've just got to look at some things and make some decisions," Malone said after Tennessee beat Missouri last week.
Malone probably wasn't near the top of the list among Tennessee's potential early entrants into the NFL going into the season, but after a productive year he'll possibly have a decision to make.
"I feel like Malone had his best camp," cornerback Emmanuel Moseley said. "He had his best spring. I knew it was going to be a great year for Malone. I'm glad that he's doing good things and continuing to do them."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.