Mike Matthews Is "As Healthy As He's Been"

Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Mike Matthews must make a big leap for the team in year two. He's on track to do it, considering the best ability is availability.

Tennessee officially began its spring practice window on Friday morning. The Volunteers are fresh off the program's first College Football Playoff appearance, which they're hoping to use as a springboard. They lost a lot of production to the NFL Draft this offseason and are now building their roster to contend nationally.

One of the biggest questions on the roster lies at wide receiver. The Vols lost two pass catchers to the NFL Draft and five to the transfer portal, forcing them to turn the room on its head in three months essentially. Quarterback Nico Iamaleava is back in the fold, which will be positive for this group, but Tennessee's coaching staff is counting on sophomore wide receiver Mike Matthews to take the next step.

The former five-star recruit caught seven passes for 90 yards and a pair of touchdowns this fall. He flashed some of the ability that made him such a highly-touted prospect but never strung together a consistent stretch of play. He'll go from a depth piece to one of the featured offensive players in just one year's time. While Matthews has all the ability in the world, he must make a big jump over the next few months to be prepared. Fortunately, head coach Josh Heupel thinks he has all the opportunity to achieve his goals.

"Mike’s had a really good offseason, just physically continuing to grow into his frame," Heupel told reporters on Friday. "He’s as healthy as he’s been right now in a long time. Just during the course of the fall, kind of got nicked up early, late in the summer. Kind of re-injured himself a little bit in training camp and you know, kind of fought through the injury a little bug during the course of the season."

"In year two for him, growth of control in his mind, how he approaches everything every day, he has really matured in a really good way. And so I’m excited about what he’s done up until this point in the offseason, but really like what he did today on the practice field. We have high hopes and expectations for him."

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