Why former Tennessee Vols WR Jalin Hyatt is in for a breakout season with the New York Giants in 2024

Former Tennessee Vols wide receiver Jalin Hyatt was solid for the New York Giants as a rookie in 2023, catching 23 passes for 373 yards while playing in all 17 regular season games.

Hyatt, however, wasn't thrilled with his performance as a rookie and he's vowed to take his game to the next level in 2024.

“It affected me a lot, actually,” said Hyatt to New York Giants On SI recently. “You know, I didn't score a touchdown and didn't have the year that I wanted.”

"It just made me hungrier for this year,” added Hyatt. "It made me focus. All the outside noise and all of that was gone, you know? Now it's one goal, and, you know, and that's we wanna win and we will win. And it starts today.”

Hyatt's comments entering his second NFL season sound a lot like his comments ahead of his breakout season at Tennessee in 2022.

In 2021, Hyatt caught just 21 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

Entering the 2022 season, Hyatt told reporters that he became complacent in 2021, which led to the South Carolina native essentially "rededicating" himself to football.

"When we were going throughout that process when Coach (Jeremy) Pruitt got fired and Coach Heup (Josh Heupel) came in, I just got complacent," said Hyatt before the 2022 season. "I wasn’t working as hard as I usually work...This offseason, I’ve never worked as hard. I’m just trying to keep building on that."

Giants head coach Brian Daboll has noticed Hyatt's hard work this offseason.

"He's put a lot of effort, a lot of energy into it (offseason work)," said Daboll this week. "He's done a nice job. He's here early. He meets with (Mike) Groh (Giants WRs coach) extra early. They've kind of created a routine from his rookie season and they're continuing that now. He's playing faster. He knows what to do."

"He's highly competitive," added Daboll.

The last time we saw a determined Hyatt after a quiet season, he won the Biletnikoff Award and had a season to remember for the Volunteers.

The NFL is a different beast. But Hyatt has the elite skills necessary -- speed, route running, and a high level of competitiveness -- to thrive as a pro. It's clear that his mindset is in the right place as he prepares for his second season in the league. And that's why I wouldn't bet against Hyatt having a breakout season in 2024

Related: Former Tennessee WR Jauan Jennings claps back at rookie teammate during awesome mic'd up moment at 49ers camp