The Tennessee Vols’ skill position group is pretty strong going into the 2026 season. DeSean Bishop, Braylon Staley, Mike Matthews, and Ethan Davis are a core four that you can put up with just about any group in the SEC.
However, the battle for the third wide receiver and second tight end are ones to watch as we head towards the start of the season. While DaSaahm Brame looks like a good bet for TE2, who that WR3 ends up being is as much a guess as anyone else.
And those are basically the words from Tennessee WR coach Kelsey Pope regarding the competition. Pope spoke to the media on Thursday, and he made it clear that he’s not getting enough from the players on a day-to-day basis in competition from the spot.
“Still searching. We have to get consistent right now, so it’s literally a search. If you know somebody, you let me know. It’s wide open right now. And for me, it’s just consistency daily. Not being up and down, and that’s what I’m getting from a bunch of guys right now.”
True freshman TK Keys is one that many had circled in the offseason as the leading candidate to claim the position, given his pure talent. But the five-star is as much in the mix for the spot as Travis Smith, Jr., Radarious Jackson, and others.
“He’s right in the mix. He’s right in the mix. So between anybody in the room, really – if they can breathe and they’re in that room, that third spot’s open for them. And right now, it’s wide open. I got guys some days who are peaking, and then the next we go down, but right now I’m still looking. We have to show consistency. For me, as a receivers coach, I have to be able to put my name and stamp on the guy when we put them on the field. If we only have one guy that can play, we’re playing freaking 13 personnel. We have two? We’ll go 12. If we got three, we’ll play an 11, but it has to be earned.”
It’s hard to imagine Tennessee being so short at wide receiver that they limit their playbook and personnel groupings. But it’s clear that Pope is sending a message to the group: someone step up.
We’ll find out this weekend after the first scrimmage on Saturday if anyone took that first step.