Tennessee

Tennessee Titans’ plan to fix decades-long receiver mess underway. How much more help is needed?

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1 month ago

April 10, 2024

Tennessee Titans’ plan to fix decades-long receiver mess underway. How much more help is needed?

Here are two simple facts that seem to matter a great deal to the Tennessee Titans:

One, last season’s Cincinnati Bengals — led by then-offensive coordinator and new Titans coach Brian Callahan — had at least three wide receivers on the field for 84.8% of their offensive snaps.

Secondly, the Titans only have two proven wide receivers on roster as their voluntary offseason program begins.

The Titans, as they always seem to be, are in search for help at wide receiver. Signing free agent Calvin Ridley to a four-year contract worth $92 million is an obvious move in the right direction, especially with veteran DeAndre Hopkins back to line up opposite him. This pairing gives the Titans a venerable duo. But beyond Hopkins and Ridley, the receiver room is a collection of unknowns and role players. Callahan isn’t shy about his opinion that the Titans need to add or identify a player who can be relied upon to contribute when the offense runs three-receiver sets.

“We have to have someone emerge for us at the slot-position receiver when we’re in 11 personnel,” Callahan said Wednesday, referring to formations with one running back, one tight end and three receivers on the field, the personnel grouping the Bengals lined up in for 76.8% of their snaps last season.

Callahan brought up three internal candidates to fill that slot role: Kyle Philips, Mason Kinsey and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. Westbrook-Ikhine is the most experienced of the bunch; he’s caught 53 passes for 755 yards and five touchdowns from the slot over the past three seasons, leading the Titans in slot yards in 2022. Philips was drafted to be the traditional slot option but he’s only played in 13 games over his first two injury-addled seasons. And Kinsey only has two career catches, having spent most of the last four years on the Titans’ practice squad.

One player who Callahan interestingly didn’t mention is Treylon Burks, the 2022 first-round NFL Draft pick who’s dealt with repeated injuries, too. Burks has only lined up in the slot in 26% of his pro snaps, but he took 77% of his college snaps at Arkansas from the slot, so there’s experience there.

Offensive coordinator Nick Holz thinks pigeonholing any receiver into one role means a crisis of imagination. Slot receivers in 2024 don’t all look and play like Wes Welker did in 2007. The NFL’s two leading receivers out of the slot in 2023 were Dallas’ CeeDee Lamb (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) and Detroit’s Amon-Ra St. Brown (6-foot, 202). Cincinnati’s Tyler Boyd (6-2, 203) was the NFL’s fourth-most-targeted slot receiver last year.

“The thing for us is we don’t just want to play (Hopkins and Ridley) on the outside either,” Holz said. “We just started putting in our formations (Tuesday) and we’ve got guys who are moving all over the field. I don’t think we just want to sit those guys on the outside by themselves.”

The Titans have roughly five months to figure out their third option, whether that means devoting a first- or second-round draft pick to the position, adding a third veteran in free agency or developing an in-house player.

But when talking about the Titans’ historic struggles at receiver, it’s important to acknowledge the issue hasn’t exactly been depth. It’s been a lack of top-end production. Think of it this way: The Titans have had 18 wide receivers gain at least 1,000 yards since 2000, more than 23 other teams including pass-first behemoths led by future Hall of Fame quarterbacks for the New England Patriots, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and Green Bay Packers. But they’ve only had 10 total 1,000-yard seasons from receivers, the fourth-fewest in the league ahead of only Baltimore, Cleveland and the New York Jets.

There’s nothing stopping the Titans from using a top-10 pick on a receiver like LSU’s Malik Nabers or Washington’s Rome Odunze, just as there’s no reason the Titans can’t sign a big-name free agent still on the market like Odell Beckham Jr., Allen Robinson or even Boyd. But in all likelihood, the pressure to produce as top-end receivers is going to fall on Ridley and Hopkins, or perhaps Burks in a best-case scenario.

THE BIG QUESTION: Tennessee Titans may have set up Will Levis for greatness in Year 2 — or made huge mistake

Callahan likes to say teams can’t have enough receivers who are fast, explosive and physical. Expect the Titans to keep adding receivers throughout the offseason based on that catchphrase alone. But don’t let the impulse to add depth distract from the fact that the best receiving corps almost always earn that title because of how good their No. 1 and No. 2 options are, not the No. 3 and beyond.

Nick Suss is the Titans beat writer for The Tennessean. Contact Nick at nsuss@gannett.com. Follow Nick on X, the platform formerly called Twitter, @nicksuss.

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Tennessee

Tennessee first SEC team with regular-season titles in men’s basketball, baseball, softball in same season

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2 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Tennessee first SEC team with regular-season titles in men’s basketball, baseball, softball in same season

Tennessee athletics are sitting on the Rocky Top, indeed.

The Vols have accomplished major history this season, becoming the first SEC school to win the regular season championship in men’s basketball, baseball and softball in the same season. The Lady Vols are the No. 3 seed and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Super Regionals this weekend in softball, while the baseball team is the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, which kicks off Tuesday in Hoover, Alabama.

REQUIRED READING: Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional

Tennessee clinched the men’s basketball regular season championship on March 6 with a road victory over South Carolina, its first outright regular season championship since the 2006-07 season. On May 3, Tennessee softball defeated Kentucky in Knoxville to clinch its second straight SEC regular season title. The Vols went on to lose in the quarterfinals.

Following a sweep of South Carolina over the weekend, Tennessee baseball clinched a share of the SEC regular-season championship with Kentucky. It was the second time in three years the Vols won at least a share of the conference championship. They are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament and are currently projected as a No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament by D1Baseball, entering last weekend.

Here’s a look at how each team performed this season:

Tennessee men’s basketball

Tennessee men’s basketball advanced to the Elite Eight in 2023-24, losing to eventual runner-up Purdue. The Vols have qualified for the NCAA Tournament for four straight seasons under coach Rick Barnes.

Final record: 27-9, 14-4 SEC
Season finish: Lost to Purdue in Elite Eight
SEC regular season titles: 11

Tennessee softball

The Lady Vols won their second straight conference regular season championship and the third in program history, all led by coach Karen Weekly. Tennessee swept through the Knoxville Regional to advance to its 13th Super Regional.

Record: 43-10, 19-5 SEC
SEC regular season titles: Three
WCWS ranking: No. 3 overall seed
Next up: No. 14 seed Alabama in Knoxville Super Regional

Tennessee baseball

Tennessee baseball swept South Carolina, while rival Kentucky dropped its finale to Vanderbilt for the two schools to finish with a share of the regular season championship. The Vols ― led by coach Tony Vitello ― earned the No. 1 seed after taking two of three regular-season games against the Wildcats in Lexington, Kentucky, earlier this season.

Record: 46-10, 22-8 SEC
SEC regular season titles: Five
Next up: Winner of the No. 8-No. 9 matchup in SEC Tournament

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Tennessee

Heartbreak for Tennessee High, falling 5-1 to Gibbs to end their season

Published

9 hours ago

May 20, 2024

Press Room

Heartbreak for Tennessee High, falling 5-1 to Gibbs to end their season

BRISTOL, Tenn. (WCYB) — Sunday was the final day to punch tickets to Murfreesboro, with Tennessee High softball looking to return to the state tournament with a win over Gibbs.

Spending the Sunday at Rotary Park, it was the Lady Eagles of Gibbs striking first with an RBI-Double from Lacey Keck in the top of the first.

Tennessee High at the plate in the bottom of the inning, the Vikings looked for a spark and it was provided by Addie Wilhoit with a stand-up double.

Unable to move the runners around, the Vikings bac on the field and it would be Carly Compton settling in on the mound and collecting strikeout after strikeout.

Handling business in the top of the inning, it was Compton providing her own run support with a solo shot to even the game up in the bottom of the fourth.

Story of the day was stranded runners as Tennessee High came up short, fighting hard but falling 5-1 to close out their season.

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Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional

Published

17 hours ago

May 19, 2024

Press Room

Why it’s special for Tennessee softball seniors to lead Lady Vols back to NCAA super regional

Kiki Milloy kicked into another gear when Tennessee softball coach Karen Weekly waved her home Sunday.

The senior outfielder sprinted down the third baseline to beat the throw from left field. Milloy dove, sliding headfirst across home plate – safe.

She rose to her knees to smack the ground as she screamed in celebration. Milloy turned towards the field at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium as she stood up, yelling again for good measure as she put the Lady Vols up by three runs.

Rylie West, who was on deck when Zaida Puni hit the RBI-single, came up to Milloy to join the celebration.

West and Milloy are the only two players left from Tennessee’s 2021 team. They’re the only ones left who felt the pain of back-to-back exits in the NCAA regionals on their home field. They’re two of the biggest reasons it hasn’t happened since.

West hit a two-RBI double right after Milloy scored, and by then, the win was well within their grasp. West followed it with a solo home run in the fifth, and No. 3 Tennessee (43-10) won 6-0 over Virginia (34-20) to claim the Knoxville Regional and advance to the super regionals for the second year in a row.

Two straight years of elation, made even sweeter by the two years before that ended in heartbreak.

“(I’m) just super proud that … we can end our careers differently than how we started them,” West said.

Puni, who transferred to Tennessee from Oklahoma ahead of the 2022 season, called the early exit her first season at UT “heartbreaking.”

“So, we made a commitment to never having that feeling again,” Puni said.

The Lady Vols will host No. 14 Alabama (36-17) in the super regionals. The best-of-three series will start Friday.

Weekly was already getting emotional after the Lady Vols run-ruled Virginia on Saturday. She fought back tears in the dugout as soon as the game ended.

“When they go out and play with so much joy and so much competitiveness and so much passion … They were just locked in and just really, really enjoying competing, and that’s what makes me the happiest,” Weekly said. “Usually wins come with that, but really, that’s what I want them to strive for every day, is just to go out there every day and compete their hearts out.”

Tennessee was dominant in all three victories, not conceding a single run. The Lady Vols outscored opponents 21-0 over 19 innings and hit .329. Karlyn Pickens and Payton Gottshall held opposing hitters to a .109 average and combined for 24 strikeouts.

MORE: Rylie West’s dad saw potential that led to Tennessee softball career. But first he told her to quit

The three-game shutout was the first thing Weekly pointed out when she met with the team after Sunday’s win.

“That’s huge. I doubt that’s being done in any other regional in the country,” Weekly said. “I think it takes just a big weight off these guys’ shoulders as hitters, knowing that our pitchers … they both have the mindset that my job is to keep a zero on the board until our offense can figure things out and get runs up for us. I would imagine they’re a whole lot of fun to play behind.”

Cora Hall covers University of Tennessee women’s athletics. Email her at cora.hall@knoxnews.com and follow her on Twitter @corahalll. If you enjoy Cora’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that allows you to access all of it.

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