Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley has re-signed with the Volunteers for the 2026 season, he tells On3. The redshirt freshman earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors after ranking sixth in the SEC with 806 receiving yards and 67.2 receiving yards per game.
Staley became the third player in program history to garner SEC Freshman of the Year honors, joining running back Jamal Lewis and quarterback Peyton Manning. Staley led all SEC freshmen in receiving and receiving yards per game and also finished tied for the league lead among freshmen with six receiving touchdowns.
He earned SEC Freshman of the Week twice in 2025. He’s a former top-100 recruit and four-star wide receiver. Staley’s return is a key win for Tennessee, which is set to lose leading receiver Chris Brazzell II to the NFL draft.
Braylon Staley hauled in an 8-yard completion on the second play of Tennessee’s first possession of the Music City Bowl to break the program’s single-season receptions record for a freshman. Staley went on to finish with four catches for 31 yards in Tennessee’s 30-28 loss to Illinois.
The redshirt freshman ended the season with 68 catches to finish with the most receptions in a season at Tennessee under Josh Heupel. Tennessee finished the 2025 season with an 8-5 record.