Vols freshman wide receiver Jalin Hyatt has been one of the few bright spots for Tennessee this season.
Hyatt met with the media on Tuesday for the first time to discuss his path to earning early playing time, being faster than everybody, developing a relationship with Harrison Bailey, and where he is as a route-runner.
Here’s everything Hyatt had to say:
On his reaction when he heard Jeremy Pruitt say they need to push the ball downfield more:
“You like to hear that from a receiver standpoint. You try to do the best for your team and for Coach Pruitt, and whatever he says I’m going to do.”
On his big plays against Alabama:
“It definitely boosted my confidence. It was, like, the first game that I was in a lot, and it was against a great team. And just to go out there and compete with the guys at Alabama, it just made me more confident.”
On his path to early playing time:
“You know, coming in as a freshman, that’s your goal. You want to come in, in fall camp. You want to come in and be prepared and try to do the best for the team, and that’s my only goal. I’m not worried about playing time. I’m not worried about any of that. I’m just trying to come in here, contribute to the team and just make us a better team.”
On how COVID altered his preparation:
“Before I got here with COVID going on, just staying on the field, just being prepared to come to Tennessee. When I got here, what I had to learn about is it’s definitely a different ballgame. You have to have stronger hands, you have to be stronger on the field, more physical. I had to learn that when I got here and definitively learned it in fall camp.”
On when he realized he was faster than everybody:
“My eighth-grade year I was very slow, but my ninth-grade year, I started getting in the weight room and I guess my body started forming up. I went to a regional opening and that was my first time running a 40 and that time I ran a 4.4, so I knew I had confidence after that. The next time I ran a 40 it went down to a 4.31, and then the last time I ran it, it was a 4.29. When I knew I started running those times my confidence got higher and I knew I was faster than everybody else.”
On if he surprised himself the first time he ran a 4.4 forty:
“Going into my first one, no, I did not. I did not know I could do that. But I guess I have to thank my parents and thank God.”
On the relationship with his fellow freshman wide receivers:
“We’re all very close. They’re definitely my best friends, and they’re great players, too. We’re just all just trying to keep working, just keep doing whatever Coach wants us to do. We’re not worried about anything else. We’re just trying to stay focused on the season and finish these games very hard.”
On scoring a touchdown against Alabama:
“Yeah, it was definitely unique, especially with the COVID stuff going on. But, like I said, it just added to my confidence. We prepared for it, so when I did score, it wasn’t shocking. I just felt like we’d been doing it in practice, running it in practice, so it just felt like a routine.”
Click to order your GBO tristar shirt now & enter Kickoff30 for 30% off!
On how Tennessee can be more explosive on offense:
“We just have to be more explosive. I think that’s the number-one key for us on offense. It’s going to take practice, and we didn’t have a lot of practice time like most other colleges did. We’ve just got to be more explosive. That’s it. We’ve just got to be a better team on offense, really. We have to keep practicing, keep working hard and be ready for Texas A&M.”
On if the wide receivers get together with the quarterbacks outside of practice:
“We try to do it before practice, just in film and really scouting the secondary so you know their flaws and their weaknesses and strengths. After practice from a receiver’s point we just try to catch balls and catch as many as we can. With the quarterback and receiver relationship, we have a great relationship. I trust all the quarterbacks and I just can’t wait to go and play Texas A&M.”
On the second half issues for Tennessee:
“The problems with the second half is self-explanatory. We just have to be more explosive. We need to come out and act like the first half didn’t happen and come out the second half 0-0. That’s the mindset we have to have coming out of halftime.
On the progression he has seen Harrison Bailey make:
“With Harrison Bailey, he came in my recruiting class. I’m very proud of him. He’s like a close brother to me, and he’s going to have success in the future, and I can’t wait to play with him. It’s going to be fun.”
On how comfortable he is playing all three wide receiver positions:
“I’m very comfortable in it, but right now I love where I’m at. Slot, there’s more space you can work with, and when it is man, you can do more work in the slot. I love the outside. I played outside in high school. But slot is probably my favorite position right now.”
On how he views himself as a route-runner:
“You know, you always have to put in work. Right now, I can improve in everything. My route-running, I’m happy about it, but I definitely know I can improve in it.”
On how he is dealing with the losses this season:
“We’re not worried about that. We’re not worried about the losses at all. What we’re worried about is just preparing, getting ready for the next game and just keeping everything for the team. Our team, we’re very close. There’s nothing happening here and we all love each other, so we all have confidence in each other and we’re not worried about that.”
On the two big plays against Alabama:
“It definitely makes me more hungry. The biggest key, what it did, was just my confidence. Coming in as a freshman, you have confidence, but I never caught the ball. I never scored. When I scored and (caught) my second reception and went about 30 yards, my confidence definitely went up. I’m definitely ready for the next game.”
On his relationship with Harrison Bailey:
“I drove up to Atlanta during the pandemic with Harrison, and we threw the ball for some time. I stayed up there for maybe three or four days, just to get the flow with him. When I went up there and after I left, I knew it was going to be something special. I’m ready to see what he does in the future.”
On his brother Devin Hyatt being faster than him:
“For my brother Devin, I’m not surprised that he’s the fastest. He did it in track. Last time he ran track, his 100 meters was, I think it was 10.5, 10.4, so I’m very blessed with him. He has a lot of work to do, but I’m very happy for him.”
