University of Tennessee Athletics
Freshmen Receivers Contribute Early at Tennessee
September 25, 2003 | Football
Sept. 25, 2003
KNOXVILLE (AP) -- Jayson Swain and Bret Smith are trying to prove that freshmen wide receivers can contribute at No. 8 Tennessee.
Most rookies, busy trying to learn the offensive system, rarely or never appear in team statistics.
Swain and Smith have the edge of experience since both were receivers in high school. Some other Tennessee receivers were high school quarterbacks, running backs or defensive backs.
``We wanted to recruit some wide receivers, not just really good athletes that can play receiver,'' Tennessee offensive coordinator Randy Sanders said Tuesday. ``Jayson and Bret know how to play wide receiver.''
Swain had a team-high four catches for 54 yards in Tennessee's 24-10 win over Florida last week.
Smith's first collegiate reception -- a 57-yarder he caught after shaking off a Florida defender -- nearly went for a touchdown.
The Vols (3-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) host South Carolina (3-1, 0-1) on Saturday.
Of the eight receivers returning from last year, four had some experience catching passes in high school. C.J. Fayton, Chris Hannon and James Banks were high school quarterbacks, and Derek Tinsley was a running back. They had to learn from scratch to play receiver.
Tennessee signed four receivers in the 2003 recruiting class: Swain, Smith, Robert Meachem and Bill Grimes.
Meachem, who was the most impressive freshman in the preseason, tore the meniscus in his right knee and had surgery. He will miss the entire season to recover.
Grimes hasn't played any and isn't listed on the depth chart.
Florida was Smith's first game.
Swain, meanwhile, has played in all three games and had totaled seven catches for 109 yards, third-best on the team.
``I don't know if we've had a true freshman receiver have this many catches at the same point as what Swain has,'' Sanders said.
Recent history backs up Sanders' impression.
Marcus Nash, the Vols second all-time leading receiver, had five catches for 77 yards and played in all but one game his freshman year.
Peerless Price had six catches for 71 yards in nine games as a freshman in 1995. In 1997, Cedrick Wilson had seven catches for 71 yards.
The Vols' all-time leading receiver with 2,814 yards, Joey Kent, redshirted his freshman year.
Smith has progressed even though he arrived on campus about two weeks before classes began. Other freshmen were in town in July. Smith and Swain also missed some preseason practice with groin injuries.
``These guys are mature, tough, smart and they've learned the system pretty well,'' coach Phillip Fulmer said.
Swain, a 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Huntsville, Ala., said quarterback Casey Clausen and the upperclassmen have helped him.
``During the summer I got a chance to get a hold of things. It really made it easier to come in two-a-days and fall. By two-a-days I pretty much had a grasp of everything,'' Swain said.
Smith, a 6-3, 175-pounder from Warren, Ark., said he figured it would take longer for him to get comfortable.
``I thought it would take me at least until the seventh game for me to learn the whole offense, but it took me the third game. I really feel good about it,'' Smith said.
Clausen, a senior, has been impressed with the young receivers' talent and knowledge of defense coverages and terminology.
``Whoever the next guy is here is going to have a heck of a fun time throwing to those guys,'' Clausen said.
