Field Pass: Receivers are key to a Tennessee win

how long do we think this is going to be a game between Tennessee and NC State on Saturday I think if Tennessee's assignment sound this game should at least be over by the early third quarter but I think the true Difference Maker in this game is going to be the depth of Tennessee's wide receiving core I'm Paige da this is the field [Music] pass there's one statline that I think is maybe more impressive than others or is at least more telling than others for what we could expect to see from Tennessee's offense this season it starts of course with niiko malava he was able to Target eight different receivers seven of them hauled in a catch and I say quotes because running back Dylan Samson and tight end Ethan Davis were responsible for two for being two of those receivers for Tennessee but I just think it shows the ability for Nico and the offense to really spread the wealth get a number of guys involved in the passing game but I think four of those receivers will really continue to cause damage and be lethal this season one of the four receivers I think will be a problem for NC State is Dante thoron who had a heck of a game in the opening week for his 20124 campaign he took three targets for three receptions a perfect three of three on the day for 105 yards he seldom had a stat line like that a year ago and I think the biggest difference is because he's no longer an inside receiver he is now in the outside and that is where his talent lies and I think the disconnect a year ago was that he wasn't primarily playing where his strength was so when you come into the season and the coaches are talking about the freak athlete that they expect you to be and you're primed to be you know this physical receiver and we don't really see much of that I think the disconnect is cuz he wasn't playing you know where his skills are we saw that translate and you know week one taking those three receptions for a pair of touchdowns and 105 yards two those catches are also what you would call explosive plays going more than 15 yards one 20 9 another 59 and I think a lot of that also has to do with the confidence that he's been able to build you know throughout the offseason cuz he did go through the offseason injured he had a similar injury that Brew McCoy had and the two of them really relied on each other during the recovery process and I think a lot of that translated into Dante thoron having a lot more mental toughness because a year ago he really checked himself out of the game mentally when he wasn't producing at a level that he knew he could then we see that immediately translated into week one he was finally able to exercise what he's been practicing all off seon and of course that getting the attention of wide receivers coach Kelsey Pope who is just simply impressed with the level of growth that he's been able to make since the off season one early which led to another um he got off to a hot start which is awesome for for him and really for our group to be able to see that because they feed off one another um but like we talked about last time his biggest deal is just staying positive uh regards of it's good or bad things happening efficiency continues where he really is you know hauling in most of his targets I think that is a a really encouraging sign for what he could do for the rest of the season another guy that we're excited to have back is of course number five Brew McCoy who in his first game back since the season in the injury a year ago he tallied 89 yards which he's only done four other times in the orange and white a year ago he did it once he had 94 yards against Florida the year prior in 2022 he did three times where all of those went for at least 102 yard or more so I do think it's safe to say that he does feel that he is 100% back and it was nice to actually see him performing like he is at 100% I mean he even carried the ball one time for nine yards so I definitely think that was very obvious and I think the greatest asset that Brun McCoy brings is that he really is a physical wide receiver he put up tons of key blocks a year ago I think he'll do that again this year which also lends himself to being able to get those contested as well so I'll be excited to see you know those you know man on man you know 50/50 balls come brw McCoy's way you know either Saturday or later this season but what I thought was really cool for br Brun McCoy is that even though the coaches say they weren't surprised by what he did on Saturday they still say he was in rare air which I think is a really cool thing to say the third wide receiver that I think will be a problem for NC State and hopefully for the remaining of the season is newcomer Chris Brazzle who all of the hype and talk and chatter around him kind of reminds me of the same hype and talking chatter that Dante thoron had a year ago but this time for Chris Brazzle he made an instant impact on the field whether making catches in the middle of the field in open space or even up against the sideline like he did early in the game and in the first drive for Tennessee against Chattanooga and I think the reason that he was able to make such an immediate impact is because the coaches say he's always in the film room he is always studying which seems to really be the trend of this Tennessee football team where all of them have taken it upon themselves to study Beyond just you know the scheduled film study with their position groups they do it on their own all the time and I think that was really obvious in their you know massively lopsided win against Chad danoa and I think that's why Chris Brazzle continues to practice and play with so much confidence because he is taking it upon himself to study so much and again I think him being you know a wide receiver that can be all over the field gives tenness see a really nice Advantage because you don't see that all the time we kind of just talked about it with you know Dante thoron but I think Chris brazzil is somebody who really could play all over the field and you certainly need that when you're going up against you know a secondary in NC State that really isn't too too shabby but when you have a variety of different types of wide receivers that secondary will get exploited at some point I think Tennessee will keep feeding that receiver um until NC State stops the bleeding but I think another wide receiver uh that could cause damage or that we see a bit bit more of has to be squirrel white you know a year ago he didn't have too many receptions but had a lot of hype around him he was that receiver that you could get to deep down the field we talked about him in the offseason about getting that you know uh opening drive touchdown against Alabama and that was about as of a 5050 ball contested catch that one could get and he made it look easy and he said it was in that aspect of his game that he feels that he's made the most growth since last season of course you didn't really see that in week one he didn't get his first Target until the early plays of the second quarter but that's also probably play design you know Tennessee taking what Chattanooga was showing him and him being that Speedy slot receiver they didn't necessarily need to um attack him there in that moment but when his turn did come he turned into targets for 22 yards but after the game what impressed or stood out the most to the coaches was that even when he wasn't receiving those targets he was still very effective and past protection and when it came to blocking and I think that kind of adds to you know his statement where he feels he's made the most growth in you know his physicality and in his strength and it was obvious there and it's you know those types of plays that continue or will be most important as the season goes on and so for him to kind of be able to be a smaller BR mcoy where you are coming up with key blocks and you can get contested catches that'll be big time this season it's certainly something Kelsey Pope really admired and if you watch squirrel white and his tape from this weekend it was his best game by far of him blocking on the perimeter it didn't matter if we were at the 50 yard line we were on the plus two yard line going in and he's being violent and he's playing hard in the Run game Chaz was the exact same way so both of those guys did a tremendous tremendous job and for me as a coach those things are probably more fulfilling than the touchdown catches because you don't see it there's no applause nobody even notices it it's a character thing and who knows maybe we see squirel white involved in the game earlier in week two than we did in week one maybe getting that classic deep route that we've come so accustomed to seeing squirrel white dominate you know like the opening drive of the Alabama game a year ago where you really could not have had more of a contested catch all of this to bring me back to my initial point with niik andava passing for 314 yards in the opening half of the game against Chattanooga getting to you know seven different wide receivers there seven different receivers to of those obviously being running back Dylan Samson and Titan Ethan Davis getting a couple of receptions but you know with the five or so receivers that true receivers that Nico was able to get with I think it really highlights just how deep that room is how committed Tennessee really is to rotating its receivers and with that Talent it's continued to make that receiving room even more lethal and it's created a lot of trust and chemistry within the room I think they truly love each other man like right it's it's easy to go celebrate for a guy I really care about like when I know his family I know what he's has been through you know what I mean like it's easy to go celebrate with a guy who I've been in the trenches with I've sweated with I've sacrificed with like it makes it really easy even if I want personal success man I got to go help that guy celebrate and I think that's what you're seeing on the outside uh but they all want the ball which I I want them to want the ball we just we got to understand that man some days it's going to be my day and if it's not I got to go affect the game in a in a different way I got to go add value some type of way also if you're enjoying the content make sure to subscribe but as much as we talked about Tennessee's Talent NC state has a little bit of that as well we talked about that at length earlier in the week so again subscribe if you miss those conversations but of course it starts with wide receiver Kevin concepion you have the running back Jordan Waters who could create some mismatches for Tennessee's defense one mismatch that really could happen is with their tight end Justin Jolie who played for Yukon a year ago I'm sure some Tennessee fans remember him when they took on Tennessee inside nean stadium a year ago but I think maybe those three guys are definitely a couple of people that Tennessee will keep their eyes on but I also think they have the talent between bu Carter gerod McCoy James Pierce Jr and Kean and peely to really shut those guys down so actually maybe we see Grayson Mcall running a bit more and he really hasn't had to use his legs at length until or since his 2022 season um but it is guys like Dad McCoy who saw limited snaps in week one but showed a lot of Promise in that game and is someone Tennessee will really rely on when it comes to uh NC State trying to stretch the field on Saturday I saw a guy that uh his experience showed up you know uh at at situations uh uh we had obviously a defense that called down in the Red Zone where he was very aware of what they what he was getting uh based off the base of the call and he knew what to anticipate uh uh what kind of Route the receiver was playing the experience you know the little bit the little things that uh um he's got great field awareness you know and and and experience showed up in that moment and in some other plays too but at the end of the day it's going to be the depth of Tennessee's wide receiving room you look and see State's week one win against Western Carolina Western Carolina was able to get 241 passing yards as compared to 140 rushing yards against the wolf pack I think Tennessee will definitely try and take advantage of that from you know won their Up Tempo offense the amount of times they wouldn't no huddle against Chattanooga I think they'll continue that against NC State um also there's a lot of social media beef between the two fan bases uh in state with really odd hype videos kind of disparaging some Tennessee players which I thought was interesting and I also haven't been able to cooperate whether or not uh the ncate has really bought more tickets than Tennessee but I think regardless ball fans will probably be louder um but if you guys have more information on that I definitely would like to know because the beef is so random and definitely seems to be instigated by um NC State following the game though I'll have a postgame report that air you know Sunday around 8:00 in the morning so make sure you subscribe so you guys don't miss out on that but thank you so much for watching please like subscribe and I'll chat with you guys on Sunday