How Tennessee football's Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley became elite SEC receivers

As Tennessee football was preparing to begin training camp in August 2025, coach Josh Heupel had to address doubts he didn’t share about the quality of his wide receiver room. A year later, they seem silly in hindsight.

“Yeah, you guys were all questioning who was going to catch the football,” Heupel said with a dry smile on Aug. 4.

He is confident and for good reason. Braylon Staley and Mike Matthews, two blue-chip recruits from the class of 2024, became best friends upon stepping on campus. Two years later, they’re poised to climb to the top of depth charts, scouting reports and the SEC receiving yards leaderboard.

There’s no question about who will spearhead the Vols passing attack in 2026.

“They’re both extremely confident,” Heupel said. “And they should be because they put the work in.”

How Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley maintain Tennessee's high standards

Matthews and Staley combine to create one of the best pass-catching duos in the SEC, but the UT coaching staff believe the duo still possess a sense of urgency and remain aware of what’s on the line every time they take the field.

“We ain’t talking about going over 1,000 yards, knocking out 10 touchdowns, all these milestones or accolades when it comes to numbers,” wide receivers coach Pope said. “What we want to focus on is being complete wideouts and I think all the success, the other stuff will come.”

Matthews is a 6-foot-1 and 200-pound outside option, and the more explosive of the duo having averaged 15.3 yards per reception last season. Staley is slightly smaller at 6-foot and 192 pounds but racked up 68 receptions, the second-most in the SEC, as a reliable safety valve from the slot.

They present different threats to defenses on gameday but their path to the starting lineup started from the same place. Matthews remembers leaning on Staley as they took in the playbook for the first time.

“We both were on the same page. We both wanted to work hard and be the best as soon as possible,” Matthews said. “We just did everything together because we were the only two people that didn't really know the offense yet. So it would really just be us out there doing all the extra work.”

There were some signs of what Matthews, Staley and the rest of the unit were capable of during the 2024 season, but it was ultimately a disappointing year for the Vols passing game, even as the Vols reached the College Football Playoff.

As offseason programing began the following January, the coaching staff’s high regard for their two budding star wideouts contrasted with the relatively low expectations those outside the program had for Tennessee’s wide receivers.

By the time preseason practice started in August, the duo was expected to step into starting roles. And while the coaching staff was optimistic they would be able to produce, Matthews didn’t imagine he would feel so comfortable so quickly.

“I definitely didn't expect it to happen like that. The first year was very exciting, and then going into year two, (there) was kind of a lot of question marks,” Matthews said. “I've never really played college football. How am I going to perform? Am I going to be scared of the shine?”

Chris Brazzell II, an eventual third round 2026 NFL Draft pick of the Carolina Panthers, cleared 1,000 receiving yards and paced the SEC with nine touchdown receptions. Meanwhile, Matthews and Staley posted similar numbers to one another in supporting roles.

Staley, the SEC Freshman of the Year in 2025, logged 837 receiving yards and six touchdowns, and Matthews totaled 813 yards and four touchdowns on 53 receptions, good for second among Tennessee receivers with more than two catches.

It was only a temporary reward for the work put in behind the scenes by Matthews and Staley, setting the stage for 2026. But success, especially when it’s enjoyed early, can cultivate a comfort that needs to be coached out, according to Pope.

By all accounts, Matthews and Staley have resisted complacency coming off breakout campaigns.

“At any moment, once they feel like ‘I’ve arrived,’ that’s the wrong mentality. So I think that, what I’ve got to do as a coach is gauge that,” Pope said. “And I think what I’ve got from both of those guys, this camp is two hungry guys that have been willing to strain and compete every single play.”

The off-field bond they share also affords Staley and Matthews the space to be brutally honest with one another and sharpen each other’s games with unfiltered, constructive criticism.

“If I see something wrong going on with him, I'm going to call it out,” Staley said. “If he sees something wrong with me, he'll call it out right away. … We spend a lot of time off the field with each other and so I think that's why we're so tight and that helps us on the field.”

Why Kelsey Pope pushed Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley to become Tennessee's leaders

There were technical things Pope wanted Staley and Matthews to improve upon with their route running, physicality and focus at the point of the catch. But he also needed them to fill the leadership void created with Brazzell's departure.

Leadership, and the selflessness it demands, didn’t come naturally to Staley and Matthews. Pope says it took time – months of meeting three or four times a week during their freshman season – before they both reached an understanding of what it takes to succeed at the college level.

“It was a lot of breaking down scar tissue and building trust and three or four talks a week. I spent more time talking to (them) during the week than I did with my wife,” Pope said.

But for Matthews and Staley, perfectionists pursuing lofty standards, the pain of tearing down their egos ended up being well worth it.

The result of intense emotional, intellectual and physical labor is the most productive returning receiving duos in the SEC and a pair of leaders the coaching staff can trust with the work of directing an elite passing offense.

“I’m more proud of those two than probably anybody I’ve coached in terms of leadership,” Pope said. “To be a productive receiver in the SEC and still not be entitled and arrogant, I think that’s hard to do these days.”

Tennessee, the only school with two of the league’s top six returning pass-catchers, will have a strong support system to surround whichever young quarterback, George MacIntyre or Faizon Brandon, ends up taking over the starting job.

“It's a great thing, especially as … you obviously have young quarterbacks coming into this thing, where you've got guys that understand when and where they're supposed to be places and that aren't just intelligent, but are actually extremely talented to do things with the ball,” offensive coordinator Joey Halzle.

Yet again, internal expectations for this duo are higher than the external hype. Neither Matthews, nor Staley were selected to the preseason All-SEC team and the Vols checked in at eighth in the predicted order of finish.

But they’ve proven capable of outperforming projections already and the competitors inside of t Matthews and Staley have them pushing each other to reach even greater heights.

“We both want to be (at the) top of the SEC. Well, I would want to be (No. 1) and he’d be (No. 2),” Matthews joked. “But however it may play out, but we really just want to achieve all our dreams and aspirations we’ve been working to.”

Stephen Thompson covers Tennessee Volunteers men's basketball. Email him at stephen.thompson@knoxnews.com and follow him on X @stephenethom.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How Tennessee football's Mike Matthews, Braylon Staley became elite SEC receivers