Tennessee football will likely have the chance to empty the bench and get snaps to young players when it hosts UAB this Saturday. With the score expected to get lopsided, plenty of freshmen would get in the mix and gain valuable experience. However, the Vols will be without one of their freshman receivers, Radarious Jackson, in the game.
Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel revealed this information on Wednesday during his time talking to the media on the SEC Coaches Teleconference. He didn’t have an encompassing update on what his status will be going forward, but he did say he’ll miss the game against the Blazers.
“Yeah, I don’t have a full update here,” Heupel said. “Obviously, you guys can pay attention to injury reports that come out, although it may not this week, but he’ll be out for this game and we’ll kind of see where he’s at the following week.”
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Jackson has played a limited role to this point before his injury. He did not record a catch against Syracuse in the opener, but notched three receptions for 35 yards in the dominant win over ETSU. Against Georgia, he caught one pass for five yards.
Tennessee has primarily used just three receivers during games this year. With limited depth, Chris Brazzell and Mike Matthews have manned the outside jobs while Braylon Staley has been in the slot. When there has been relief, it’s typically been one of the two freshmen, Jackson and Travis Smith Jr.
Jackson was a four-star recruit out of high school. He is an in-state prospect out of Memphis, Tennessee. 247 ranked him as the No. 30 receiver in the 2025 class and No. 8 player in the state.
Kickoff this Saturday inside Neyland Stadium is set for 12:45 p.m. ET and will air on SEC Network.
