Over the last few weeks, there have been plenty of Tennessee Vols fans asking the same question.
Where's true freshman wide receiver Mike Matthews?
Vols fans have watched several true freshman wide receivers make a huge impact around the nation this season, but Matthews hasn't been one of them.
Take a look at these numbers from several of the top wide receivers from the 2024 recruiting class (with their ranking among WR recruits, via On3, in parenthesis):
Ryan Williams (No. 3) -- Alabama -- 23 receptions, 576 yards, 6 touchdowns
Cam Coleman (No. 2) -- Auburn -- 9 receptions, 212 yards, 1 touchdown
Ryan Wingo (No. 8) -- Texas A&M -- 13 receptions, 296 yards, 2 touchdowns
Jeremiah Smith (No. 1) -- Ohio State -- 32 receptions, 553 yards, 7 touchdowns
TJ Moore (No. 4) -- Clemson -- 12 receptions, 190 yards, two touchdowns
Mike Matthews (No. 6) -- Tennessee -- 2 receptions, 35 yards, 1 touchdown
Obviously not every highly touted true freshman wide receiver is making an impact through the first half of the 2024 season, but several clearly are. And most of the true freshman wide receivers that are making a big impact play for teams in the playoff hunt.
Matthews, meanwhile, hasn't caught a pass since Tennessee's win against Kent State, when he showed impressive body control on his only touchdown catch of the season.
Matthews probably has the highest ceiling of any wide receiver on the Vols' roster.
So it's fair to ask why the Vols aren't finding a way to get the ball to their stud true freshman -- especially with Tennessee's offense struggling in recent weeks.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel was asked directly about Matthews on Wednesday during the weekly SEC teleconference and he pointed to the fact that Matthews was banged up during training camp, which limited his development, as one of the main reasons why he hasn't played more this season.
Heupel also added that he anticipates Matthews playing against Alabama this weekend.
"(Matthews) played a good amount early in the football game (against Florida), and as the game went on, just didn't have the same number of reps that he did early," said Heupel. "Mike is somebody that was banged up during the course of training camp and that limited a little bit of his development early in the year. We really like what we see out of him. He's had a great week of preparation. [I] anticipate him playing in this one."
Matthews played 13 snaps against Florida (Chris Brazzell led the team at wide receiver with 58 snaps, followed by Bru McCoy with 57 snaps, Squirrel White with 33 snaps, and Chas Nimrod at 31 snaps....a banged up Dont'e Thornton played just four snaps).
Tennessee's offense can take a little while for newcomers to adapt to. But if the Vols are going to sign elite wide receivers, they're going to have to find a way to get them on the field early. Not only for the offensive production, but to help in recruiting, too. If elite wide receiver recruits see that young wide receivers aren't playing early at Tennessee, but they are at Alabama, Ohio State, and Texas....well it's going to be tough to land those recruits in the future.
Maybe this will be the week that Matthews finally has the opportunity for a breakout performance.
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