Josh Heupel will be meeting with one of his former breakout players very soon. According to a report from Matt Ray of Volunteer Country this week, former UCF wide receiver Jaylon Robinson will be in Knoxville for a visit this weekend from May 6-8.
The talented wide receiver from Fort Worth, Texas began his collegiate career at Oklahoma in 2018. After a freshman season that saw him have three receptions in just two games, Robinson would sit out his sophomore season following his decision to transfer out of Norman, Oklahoma.
Robinson would eventually join the UCF football program for the 2020 season, which was coached by now-Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel. Under Heupel’s offense in Florida, Robinson would flourish to the tune of 979 yards and six touchdowns on 55 receptions in his first year. After that dynamic season, though, Heupel would move on to Tennessee and Robinson’s numbers took a dip. Jaylon Robinson finished the 2021 season at UCF with 322 yards and two touchdowns on just 18 receptions.
In addition, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound receiver’s 2021 season was also hindered by a knee injury that would occur halfway into the season, thus limiting his production.
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On Wednesday, Apr. 20, just days before the deadline to enter the transfer portal, Robinson made the announcement that he would be stepping away from UCF to explore other options in collegiate football. Now, after the report from Volunteer Country this week, it looks like a reunion with Josh Heupel is in the forecast for this weekend.
According to Ray’s report on May 3, Robinson “already used two official visits with stops made at TCU and Ole Miss,” with Georgia “becoming more involved in his recruitment as well.”
Jaylon Robinson did go through UCF’s 2022 spring camp and performed up to his potential during the Knight’s spring game. The former Knight totaled 122 yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions.
Last Tuesday, Tennessee and head coach Josh Heupel bolstered the Vols’ receiving room by bringing in transfer wideout Bru McCoy. The former five-star recruit has been with USC for the last three seasons but has struggled to find time on the field due to off-the-field reasons.
With Tennessee losing two starting wide receivers to the NFL this year, Velus Jones Jr and JaVonta Payton, that means two important things for Tennessee. On one hand, it shows transfer recruits the ability to come to Tennessee and have the option to compete, play, and contribute right away. Both Jones Jr and Payton were once transfer players that have now transferred their talent to NFL rosters. However, on the other hand, it shows that there are spots in Tennessee’s receiving room that need to be filled. While the Vols do have talent on the roster already, bringing in experienced talent is only a positive in a situation like this. That’s where Tennessee found significant success last year, and there’s no reason why it couldn’t be found in the same type of way this season.
