Tennessee receivers accounted for 320 of the 351 total receiving yards in the Vols’ 59-10 victory against Ball State last Thursday. That’s more than all but two games last season and an indicator that the Vols’ offense hasn’t skipped a beat as it starts Year 2 for Josh Heupel.

The thing is, the offense could have scored 80 if it wanted. Sure it was just Ball State. But Tennessee showed one thing that conveys promise for this season: Depth.

Offensive coordinator Alex Golesh and Heupel were vanilla in their play calling by design. They spread the love to all receivers and took only a few deep shots with a road trip to Pitt coming next. Four Tennessee pass catchers totaled more than 40 yards with none exceeding 70 yards. That’s balanced and efficient, even against a poor Cardinals secondary.

Heupel was asked about the depth at receiver and why he likes getting the ball into the hands of multiple different weapons.

“The guys have proven that they earned the right to have more opportunities than they did a year ago,” Heupel said. “Last year on Week 2, we were still finding out a lot about our football team. We are this year too, but there is a lot known. A year into it, there are more guys that understand offensively what we are doing and the why behind it.”

There are at least seven receivers that have a chance to be real threats so far: Cedric Tillman, Bru McCoy, Jalin Hyatt, Ramel Keyton, Jimmy Holiday, Walker Merrill and Squirrel White. That list excludes sophomore Jimmy Calloway, who seems to have been phased out in one of Tennessee’s most glaring gimme games of the season.

And you have to feel for Calloway and his chances to reverse that situation any time soon. He’s been battling Merrill, White and Holiday for reps, but two of those players scored touchdowns against Ball State and the other (White) showed flashes of potential in his first collegiate appearance.

Here’s the first touchdown of Merrill’s college career. He was listed as an “OR” starter with McCoy, and the latter earned the nod on game day.

And here’s Holiday’s score. Good luck catching him after he cuts on this route. Not a bad toss from one of the SEC’s better backup quarterbacks, too.

That’s fine against inferior defenders, but Tennessee receivers torched SEC defenses last season too. If this is what it looks like without opening up the playbook, get ready.

And Tennessee isn’t just dangerous based off speed alone. McCoy and Tillman are big-bodied receivers who will combine to become one of the most dominant tandems in the nation this season. Count on it.

McCoy’s potential shined through Thursday. He ended his day as the fourth leading receiver for Tennessee, snagging 3 receptions for 42 yards. He showed his strong hands on his second (not first) catch of the day, below:

Admittedly, this was a scary ball from Hooker. Still, McCoy getting up to snag the catch and very nearly scoring afterward proves he is still a force after being out of college football the past few seasons.

It wasn’t all good from McCoy in his debut, though. Had he cut the route below a tad more inside, he likely would have scored. Instead, the defensive back was in position to make McCoy pay for it.

Don’t sleep on Keyton, either. The senior from Marietta, Ga., is itching for a breakout season. He’s had the talent, but not quite the frame for the SEC in the past. It appears time in the weight room has addressed that for this season.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pounder looked like a gazelle Thursday. This catch from Hooker in the middle of the field, followed by his ability to keep churning out yards, is a positive.

Hyatt’s potential for production has been a question mark. He stood out as a freshman but seemed to regress in Heupel’s first season. But he flashed his potential from the slot Thursday on the second play of the game.

You knew he was scoring the second he cut back on this route.

Finally, there’s Tillman. You know … the guy projected to be one of the SEC’s top receivers alongside LSU’s Kayshon Boutte? Yeah, that guy who had a quiet 6-reception, 68-yard game against Ball State is going to be a big factor. There were a few ‘almost’ moments in the opener. He’ll start hauling some of those in very soon.

It’s hard to imagine the starting group of Tillman and McCoy with Hyatt in the slot will change this weekend at Pittsburgh. Holiday made a case for more reps, as did Keyton.

Many thought the losses of JaVonta Payton and Velus Jones from last season would spell trouble. But Tennessee seems blessed with a variety of weapons this year. Real competition awaits, as does a chance for these receivers to prove it wasn’t just a fluke outing. Nobody knows how this season will play out, but Saturday’s Round 2 of the Johnny Majors Classic is sure to be a fun one.