COLUMBUS, Ohio — Bru McCoy settled into a pocket on the Tennessee football sideline Saturday and seized a Nico Iamaleava pass.
The play netted 21 yards as the senior wide receiver tumbled into his teammates. It was the only pass play that gained more than 20 yards for the Vols, who never mounted anything that resembled an aerial threat against Ohio State.
“The entire sum of the entire night is we didn’t stretch them enough,” Vols offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “We didn’t force them to respect us going by them enough to make them change up what they were doing.”
That wasn’t only a Saturday issue. It was a season-long offensive anchor that lingered all the way until No. 9 Tennessee (10-3) bowed out of the College Football Playoff with a whimper, losing 42-17 in a noncompetitive game against No. 8 Ohio State (11-2) at Ohio Stadium.
The Vols are hitting the offseason needing to address the passing attack — and that starts with a long look at the wide receiver group.
Wide receiver has to be a transfer portal focal point for Tennessee
Much was made of Tennessee’s wide receiver depth before the season but that proved a misevaluation.
The offense struggled for a myriad of reasons, including Iamaleava’s inconsistency and poor play at offensive tackle. Those issues flared, at times. The wide receivers rarely inspired confidence.
“We’ve got to find some guys that are going to step up and make plays and we will,” Vols coach Josh Heupel said.
Tennessee loses seniors McCoy and Dont’e Thornton. Chris Brazzell II and Squirrel White are the lone returners with more than seven career receptions. Mike Matthews didn’t take off as a freshman as anticipated. Braylon Staley played in his fourth game at OSU.
Saturday gave a glimpse of the future at the position when Thornton and White departed with first-half injuries. It wasn’t pretty against an elite defense.
Halzle described the passing game problems as being put “in a phone booth” offensively.
“It’s kind of a sum of all the parts,” Halzle said.
OVERREACTIONS: Tennessee has a talent gap problem and more overreactions from CFP rout vs Ohio State
Tennessee couldn’t push the ball downfield. It hasn’t been able to since Jalin Hyatt and Cedric Tillman keyed the 2022 offense to insane production.
It’ll have to hit the portal looking for a boost — and it’ll have to hit bigger than it did with recent portal additions.
How Tennessee’s secondary overhaul showed a path forward at wide receiver
Tennessee had eight defensive backs transfer following last season. It was better for it.
The Vols went into the portal to get Jermod McCoy from Oregon State. He was an All-American across from Rickey Gibson III, who had a strong first season.
That is the offseason playbook Tennessee has to follow at wide receiver to equip Iamaleava with the weapons to elevate the offense.
“It’s about supplying a team around him,” Halzle said. “If you’ve got a quarterback that can make it go, our job is to make sure that we have the pieces and the scheme to allow him to be his best.
Tennessee has had four wide receivers enter the portal, including rotation players Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb. Young receivers Nathan Leacock and Nate Spillman also entered after not factoring into the group.
The departures means Tennessee has a chance to inject new talent into the room, which it did successfully in the defensive backfield before this season.
ADAMS: Tennessee football fans show up vs Ohio State. Unfortunately the Vols didn’t
Iamaleava expressed confidence in the “great young room” moving forward. He noted the Vols get some players back.
“We’ll just look to keep getting better in the offseason,” he said.
That should include bringing in new options.
Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @ByMikeWilson or Bluesky @bymikewilson.bsky.social. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football needs wide receiver threat from transfer portal
