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It was definitely a letdown. After teasing a 1 p.m. ET announcement Wednesday morning, Tennessee soccer vast receiver Jalin Hyatt revealed on Twitter that he could be getting into the NFL Draft and opting out of the Vols’ Orange Bowl in opposition to the Clemson Tigers.
So grateful for my @Vol_Football teammates, coaches and all of Vol Nation. It’s been an incredible trip. After cautious consideration, I’ve determined to start preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft. #VFL 🙏 pic.twitter.com/Y42GMG0hoY
— Jalin Hyatt (@jalinhyatt) December 14, 2022
Hyatt’s choice to enter the NFL Draft is definitely one thing Vol followers didn’t need. Nonetheless, if he was going to enter the draft, he did them a profit by opting out of the bowl sport. There may be nothing UT can acquire from him taking part in in it.
Josh Heupel already has his wideouts in place for subsequent yr in Ramel Keyton and Bru McCoy, which is why it made sense for Cedric Tillman, who has been banged up all yr, to choose out. What Tennessee soccer wants, although, is to search out out what they’ve at quarterback and within the slot.
Joe Milton III is successfully auditioning for the beginning job already, as he can be competing within the spring with Tayven Jackson, Nico Iamaleava and doubtlessly a switch or two. This can be a head begin for him, but it surely’s additionally a head begin for the coaches to see what they’ve in him.
Hyatt taking part in within the bowl sport does the coaches and Milton no favors if he’s not coming again subsequent yr. Milton must get used to working with out Hyatt, and the coaches have to see what he can do with out Hyatt. That’s one good thing about Hyatt not taking part in.
On prime of that, the coaches want to determine who can be Tennessee soccer’s slot receiver going ahead. With Jimmy Vacation and Jimmy Calloway each within the switch portal, it’s possible that Squirrel White is that participant, however the coaches have to see how he does in actual sport time motion past simply mop-up obligation.
White is a speedy receiver who stands at 5’10” 165 kilos and caught 21 passes for 373 yards and a landing this yr. A lot of his catches had been from throws by Milton anyway, so they could have established a rapport. In actual motion in opposition to a group like Clemson, that could possibly be on show.
If the Vols had been within the Faculty Soccer Playoff, then sure, you’d need Hyatt taking part in. Nonetheless, they didn’t get in. The Orange Bowl is essential for the way forward for this system given the states of the Vols and Clemson, however bowl video games are nonetheless largely meaningless past the playoff.
That is clearly why the playoff is increasing. The purpose is to make extra of those postseason video games matter as soon as once more and restrict opt-outs, and that is one of the simplest ways to do it. Till then, although, no one features from a participant taking part in in a meaningless bowl sport if he received’t be again subsequent yr.
Hyatt finishes his profession with Tennessee soccer having caught 108 passes for 1,769 yards and 19 touchdowns. He caught 67 passes for 1,267 yards and a school-record 15 touchdowns this yr en path to changing into the primary Vol to win the Biletnikoff Award.
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