Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel needed only one day of practice to express an opinion on freshman wide receiver Tyreek King.
Heupel described the former Knoxville Catholic star as “explosive” and “dynamic.” There are no better adjectives if you want to excite fans about a new wide receiver.
I wondered how many times those same words have been applied to Miami’s Malachi Toney.
This time last year, Toney was about to begin his college career with the Hurricanes after forgoing his senior year of high school. He was only 17.
“I’m really fired up about what Malachi brings to the table,” Miami coach Mario Cristobal said of Toney at spring practice. “He’s a special guy that we’re going to accelerate.”
Tennessee fans can only hope Heupel is as accurate
in his assessment of King as Cristobal was in his early impression of Toney, who was a big reason why the Hurricanes advanced to the national championship game last season.
Toney weighs only 188 pounds, but he might be the biggest threat in college football with the ball in his hands. Last season, as a freshman, he caught 109 passes for 1,211 yards, rushed 23 times for 113 yards and completed four of seven passes for two touchdowns.
But Pro Football Focus cited other numbers in naming Toney the "most dangerous receiver.” He had 841 yards after catch, 285 yards after contact, and 446 yards on screen passes alone. He also led FBS by creating 33 misses tackles after catches.
You don’t need to know those stats to understand how scary Toney is in the open field. You just had to watch him.
When I watched Toney last season, I imagined him – or somebody like him − in Tennessee’s offense. Wide receivers, running backs and quarterbacks have all flourished in Heupel’s high-scoring system. But Heupel has never had a receiver like Toney, who can turn any reception to a nightmare for an opposing secondary.
Tennessee hasn’t had a receiver like Toney, either – at least not since I’ve been watching. The Vols have had big, fast, and sure-handed receivers, but none who could make defenders look as silly as Toney does with his quickness and shiftiness.
I’m not suggesting King will excel at Toney’s level, but he’s about the same size and demonstrated some of the same attributes in high school. Based on that – and Heupel’s praise – he at least has potential.
So does Tennessee’s entire receiving corps. In fact, this could be Heupel’s best group of receivers, especially if you include Ethan Davis, who has more playmaking potential than Heupel’s previous tight ends.
The Vols return one of the SEC’s top pass-catching tandems in Mike Matthews and Braylon Staley, each of whom had more than 800 yards in receiving last season. Tennessee also has plenty to choose from in selecting its starting threesome.
“You’ve got some extremely talented, gifted wide receivers, and you got large guys,” offensive coordinator Joey Halzle said. “You got guys that can run. And the best thing about it is you have a lot of guys in that room that you can get the ball and let them do the rest.”
Halzle has never been one to shortchange players on preseason praise. Nonetheless, he might not be far off in his appraisal of this group's depth.
Radarius Jackson and Travis Smith are both second-year players and four-star recruits. There’s also TK Keys, the No. 1-ranked wide receiver in the 2026 class. A knee injury limited his practice time in the spring, and he wasn’t full-go when preseason practice began.
If healthy, Keys could get immediate playing time as a freshman, even though Heupel has a history of relying mainly on his starting receivers. But there could be enough quality depth in this receiving corps for Heupel to spread out the workload.
Something else to consider: Playing time will be a factor if Heupel hopes to retain these receivers, all of whom will be eligible to return next season. And if they do return, next season’s receiving group could be even better.
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tyreek King, TK Keys could give Tennessee football something extra | Adams
