Tennessee receiver Chris Brazzell is sidelined due to injury to begin the Vols’ fall practice. No Vol coach has talked about what the injury is or how much time he’s expected to miss, but Brazzell has worked off to the side and not participated in drills during the open portions of practice during the first two practices of training camp.
The Vols’ returning receivers combined to catch just 42 passes last season and Brazzell accounted for 29 of those catches.
Brazzell was underwhelming in his first season after transferring in from Tulane, totaling just 333 yards and two touchdowns. Of course, one of those touchdowns was the go ahead score against Alabama in the fourth quarter— perhaps the biggest touchdown of the 2024 season.
Tennessee has had multiple receivers struggle in their first year learning Josh Heupel’s system before breaking out in their second season. The Vols hope Brazzell proves to be the latest example and alleviates some of the pressure off Tennessee’s younger receivers.
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Walk-on receiver Trey Weary has worked as a starting receiver during the open portions of practice in Brazzell’s absence, but freshman receivers Travis Smith Jr and Radarious Jackson are the ones that could make the most of the opportunity.
Between that freshman duo and sophomores Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley, the Vols’ youth movement at receiver is taking center stage to open up fall practice.
“Young guys don’t have time to be young. It’s been one of the things that we’ve talked about as a program since we got back in January,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said earlier this week. “Our coaches are responsible for that. Our players are too, the guys that are vets inside those position rooms. I really like the guys that we have inside the wide receiver room. That’s athletic traits, playmaking ability, their attention to detail. Excited to see that room continue to grow throughout the course of training camp, and really through the season as young guys continue to get better.”
Tennessee is off Friday before returning to the practice field Saturday morning. We will update Brazzell’s status at practice then.
