Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel hinted that UT fans might finally get their wish in November.
For the last month, it seems like everyone on Rocky Top — from fans to media — have been calling for true freshman wide receiver Mike Matthews to see more action.
Matthews is a former five-star recruit who was rated by 247Sports as the No. 6 wide receiver in the 2024 recruiting class.
The calls for Matthews to play more comes in the wake of Tennessee’s recent offensive struggles combined with several other true freshmen wide receivers making a big impact in college football this season (Alabama’s Ryan Williams, Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith, Texas’ Ryan Wingo, etc).
On Monday, during his weekly press conference, Heupel was asked if Matthews is “building toward a bigger role on the back half of the season”.
“Yeah, you know, Mike’s gotten some opportunities,” said Heupel. “I feel like there’s a greater opportunity for execution at times when he’s out there — some of that’s the guys around him, some of that’s him, too. We need him to continue to come on and be a big part of what we’re doing here on the back-half of this conference season.”