‘Tennessee fans, they don’t like me.’ Barion Brown key to Kentucky’s upset hopes vs. Vols.
No. 3 Tennessee is not exactly lacking big-play threats at wide receiver this season.
Junior Jalin Hyatt ranks fourth nationally in receiving yards per game (109.9) and leads the country in receiving touchdowns (12). He also leads the country in most receptions for at least 30 yards (nine), 40 yards (eight) and 60 yards (three).
Hyatt is not even considered the best wide receiver on the Tennessee roster.
That honor goes to senior Cedric Tillman, the No. 5-ranked wide receiver in the 2023 NFL Draft class according to ESPN analyst Todd McShay. Tillman has played in just three games this season due to an ankle injury — with 17 catches for 246 yards — but could return to the field to face Kentucky this week.
If No. 19 Kentucky pulls off the upset of the undefeated Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee fans figure to ask why one more dynamic receiver is not on the roster though.
Wildcats freshman Barion Brown, a Midseason Freshman All-American, is from Nashville. He is already one of the most dangerous kick returners in the country and in recent weeks has become a featured part of the Kentucky passing game.
“I just know Tennessee fans, they don’t like me because I committed here,” Brown told the Herald-Leader before the season. “But I feel like it was the best for me. My mom and dad didn’t want me to stay in Tennessee. I just feel like it was the best decision for me.”
Like most of the top programs across the Southeast, Tennessee offered Brown a scholarship as a four-star recruit from Pearl-Cohn High School. Brown chose instead to join Kentucky’s growing Nashville recruiting pipeline.
The Wildcats also signed four-star Nashville twins Keaten and Destin Wade — Tennessee was a finalist for the brothers — in its 2022 recruiting class. Kentucky signed three-star cornerback Maxwell Hariston from Nashville in the 2021 class. The Wildcats hold a commitment from four-star Nashville prep wide receiver Shamar Porter in the 2023 class.
“Coach Stoops and all those guys have really invested time in the area and made it a priority,” said Buck Fitzgerald, the president of National Playmakers Academy, a Nashville-based gym where Brown and the Wade twins trained. “People feel like it’s a priority. They’re present. They’re recruiting multiple guys in that area. And they play a high level of ball. They’re winning nine and 10 games.
“Guys my age, sometimes we look at things and look at the old blue bloods and say why doesn’t a kid go here? These kids, they have a different perspective. Different teams are relevant, different schools are relevant in their lifetime, so now Kentucky is cool. It’s hip, it’s fun, the fan base is amazing. And it’s right close to home where their family can see them play big-time Southeastern Conference football. They’re successful and guys are going to the league, so they’re checking every box.”
Destin Wade, who is on track to redshirt as a freshman quarterback, is unlikely to play against his home-state school unless Kentucky star quarterback Will Levis is injured. Keaten Wade and Hairston could play as reserves for the UK defense.
Brown will be key to the Wildcats’ game plan though.
He ranks second on the team in receptions (24) and receiving yards (350). He is averaging 43.3 yards per kickoff return with one kickoff return for a touchdown. While serving as a fill-in punt returner for injured starter Tayvion Robinson in Kentucky’s win over Mississippi State, Brown appeared to return a punt for a touchdown but had the play called back by a block-in-the-back penalty that was not needed to break him free.
“He’s very, very explosive and getting better with every opportunity as he’s getting stronger, getting adapted to the speed of the SEC,” UK Coach Mark Stoops said of Brown earlier this month. “He’s a guy that is very, very talented. You see it every day.”
Brown’s receiving numbers could be even better but he and Levis have just missed multiple deep connections by inches.
Even as the pair work on that timing, Brown has been a weapon for the offense on a variety of short screen passes designed to get him the ball in space.
“He’s a special player,” offensive coordinator Rich Scangarello said. “He’s got a real innate feel for it. … To me, those are like run plays. You get your best players the ball in space and you let them do what they can do.”
While Tennessee might not need another dynamic receiver right now, both Tillman and Hyatt could jump to the NFL Draft after the season.
A big game from Brown this week then could add a new level of intrigue to the rivalry for years to come.
“I call him Big-play Barion,” Kentucky star running back Chris Rodriguez said. “He gets the job done.”
Next game
No. 19 Kentucky at No. 3 Tennessee
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
TV: ESPN
Radio: WLAP-AM 630, WBUL-FM 98.1
Records: Kentucky 5-2 (2-2 SEC), Tennessee 7-0 (3-0)
Series: Tennessee leads 82-26-9
Last meeting: Tennessee won 45-42 on Nov. 6, 2021, in Lexington
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