Vols insider says Tennessee fans should expect to see a pair of exciting young players see action against Kent State

VolQuest's Brent Hubbs joined 104.5 The Zone's Ramon, Kayla, and Will on Friday morning and he noted that Tennessee Vols fans should expect to see a pair of exciting young players make their debut against Kent State on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium.

Hubbs said during his appearance on Ramon, Kayla, and Will that he thinks true freshmen wide receivers Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley will play against Kent State this weekend.

"I think you'll see him (Mike Matthews) and Braylon Staley, I think you'll see them both get their first action," said Hubbs. "The two freshman receivers. Obviously, Mike Matthews is further along in the eyes of most people. I think he had a better spring than Staley -- not that Staley did bad. But I think Matthews made more of an impact in the spring. I think the question is where is he (Matthews) -- not necessarily for Oklahoma (on September 21) -- where is he during this stretch here. Where does he factor in. Because I think that group is playing well."

"I think this receiving corps has got a lot of talent, I think they got a lot of depth," added Hubbs. "So where Matthews will factor into that moving forward, I think is going to be interesting. This is a big opportunity for him, I think, tomorrow night."

Matthews is a former five-star recruit who was rated as the No. 6 wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting class. Staley, meanwhile, is a former four-star recruit who was rated as the No. 15 wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting class.

Kent State isn't expected to give Tennessee much of a challenge. Hubbs mentioned that the Golden Flashes are one of the worst teams to come into Neyland Stadium in the last 30 years.

The goal of this game will be for the Vols to keep their intensity against a lesser opponent while staying healthy and getting young players like Matthews and Staley an opportunity to play some important developmental snaps.

Matthews and Staley are the future of the wide receiver position for the Vols. Saturday night will be a great opportunity for those two players to take the next step in their development as SEC players.

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