Tennessee junior wide receiver Mike Matthews suffered a right knee injury in the second quarter of Saturday’s game at Texas A&M. Matthews hauled in two receptions for 42 yards. On that second reception, he was fighting with everything he had and ultimately suffered his injury on the play. 

Due to the injury, Matthews is expected to miss the rest of the season. On3 was first to report.

Matthews has been a key part of the Vols’ offense in more ways than one. On the season, Matthews has hauled in 39 receptions for 608 yards and four touchdowns. He’s added a rushing touchdown on four carries as well. 

His ability to go across the middle and make those tough catches that some may shy away from further showed what type of player the Vols had on the field. He was on the 2026 Biletnikoff Award Preseason Watch List for a reason.

“Really just trusting myself,” Matthews said in a recent media availability. “Running slants is sometimes dangerous because there’s a lot of bodies inside. But I know that I play with a lot of speed going in and out of breaks, and I’m going to trust whoever’s back there to put me in position to make a play on the ball and be safe. Keeping those things in mind keeps me confident.”

What makes Matthews even more special is his willingness to be a physical and effective blocker in the run game. For a team that has excelled tremendously in running the ball, some of those yards would not have been possible without the blocking on the outside from Matthews and the receivers. Recently, he was asked if that has always been a part of his mentality and who he is.

“I feel like it’s been a mentality,” Matthews said. “But I definitely have grown just being around our running backs and knowing that they’re always going to break a tackle and always keep going. I also understand, I know if I had the ball, I would want somebody blocking for me just like that.”

With Matthews out, Tennessee will now need someone to step up and provide the Vols with the toughness and do-whatever-it-takes mentality that Matthews brought to the field.

Send your questions, comments, and hot takes to our email [email protected] for the chance to be featured in an article!

Follow Our Social Media Accounts

• Follow Vols on SI on X (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Facebook (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Instagram (Click HERE)
• Subscribe to Vols on SI on YouTube (Click HERE)

Sign up for our newsletter to have articles sent straight to your email daily HERE.