What five-star freshman WR Mike Matthews gave Tennessee in his debut with the Vols

There wasn’t much to take away from No. 6 Tennessee’s 71-0 win over Kent State Saturday night at Neyland Stadium. The Vols scored 37 points in the first quarter, had 65 by halftime and emptied the bench in the second half.

The game served as the debut for Tennessee freshman wide receiver Mike Matthews , though, the former five-star prospect who did not play in the first two games of the season.

“Mike is a guy that we’ve had great trust in through spring ball,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference Saturday night . “Early part of training camp, got nicked up. We were able to use our four-wide package now with him being healthy tonight.”

Mike Matthews as a recruit: 5-Star, No. 26 overall, No. 6 WR

Matthews finished the game with two catches for 35 yards. He caught an 18-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter from backup quarterback Gaston Moore .

“I think we’ve always seen his big-play ability in practice,” Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava said after the game . “it was good to see it carry over to a game. He’s always making tough catches, so it was good seeing him shine.”

Matthews headlined Tennessee’s 2024 recruiting class as a five-star wide receiver out of Lilburn, Georgia.

He was ranked in the On3 Industry Ranking as the No. 26 overall player in the country. He was ranked as the No. 6 wide receiver in the class and the No. 4 overall player in the state of Georgia.

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at No. 15 Oklahoma

Dont’e Thornton leads Tennessee in receiving yards (169) and touchdowns (2) through three games. Chris Brazzell has a team-high 10 receptions for 108 yards while Bru McCoy has caught eight passes for 108 yards. Squirrel White has another 108 yards on five catches.

Matthews had been limited since early in training camp due to a minor soft-tissue injury, leaving him sidelined the first two weeks of the season, in the 69-3 win over Chattanooga and the 51-10 win over North Carolina State in Charlotte.

Eleven different Tennessee players caught passes against Kent State as the Vols used 53 different players on offense. It was the final tuneup before the sixth-ranked Vols (3-0) go to No. 15 Oklahoma (3-0) on Saturday night (7:30 Eastern Time, ABC) to start SEC play.

“It was good to have him out there and make plays,” Heupel said of Matthews. “He handled himself within the flow of the game extremely well. Really excited about what he did, but a lot of our young guys too.”

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