Two freshmen wide receivers, Travis Smith Jr. and Radarious Jackson, are going through their first spring practices at Tennessee.
Both freshmen signed with the Vols during the early signing period in Dec. 2024.
Following Tennessee's first spring football scrimmage on Monday at Neyland Stadium, fifth-year head coach Josh Heupel discussed if there is a sense of urgency for his two freshmen early enrollee wide receivers.
"That's just the landscape of college football," Heupel said. "As your roster turns over, your young guys have to be ready to learn it, earn it and go take a job. Once they prove that, then it's our job to put them in a place where they can go have success. Those young guys have approached it the right way. We're a long way away from where we need to be, but if they continue to chop wood every single day, we have a chance."
Heupel also discussed what has allowed Smith Jr. to have success as an early enrollee.
"He, like our freshman class, the midyear guys in January, just really mature," Heupel said. "He has handled himself extremely well, accountable in his competitive makeup and how he approaches every single day. He did a great job in the offseason continuing to grow his body, and then for a young player, has handled what we've installed already in the early part, which is a lot.
"He has handled it extremely well, and so, when you understand what you are doing, now you can attack how you need to play from snap to whistle. He's got great size, great length, competitive to the catch, and you saw that tonight."
The 6-foot-3, 207-pound Smith Jr. signed with Tennessee as a four-star prospect from Westlake High School in Atlanta, Georgia. He committed to the Vols over Alabama, Auburn and Georgia.
Jackson was also a four-star prospect from Sheffield High School in Memphis, Tennessee. The 6-foot-2, 206-pound freshman committed to Tennessee over Ole Miss, Auburn and Mississippi State.
PHOTOS: Tennessee wide receivers through the years
This article originally appeared on ...
