Josh Heupel Tennessee Development said Wednesday Mike Matthews is still happening after the freshman wide receiver missed time in fall camp, but his playing time should resume Saturday afternoon against Alabama.

Matthews appeared in four games this season but was only on the field 26 times.

“We really like what we see from him,” Heupel said Wednesday during his appearance on the SEC Coaches conference call. “He had a great week of preparation. Expect him to play in this game.”

Next up: No. 11 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Alabama

No. 11 Tennessee (5-1, 2-1 SEC) hosts No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1) at Neyland Stadium at 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time (TV: ABC).

Matthews played seven snaps in the 23-17 overtime win against Florida on Saturday night, the same number as in the 19-14 loss at Arkansas two weeks ago.

“(He) played a ton at the beginning of the football game,” Heupel said, “and as the game went on he just didn’t get the same number of reps as he did at the beginning.”

Squirrel knows, Bru McCoy And Don't'e Thornton all had injuries sustained at Arkansas, but McCoy played a total of 57 snaps, White played 30 against Florida and Thornton played seven.

Matthews was also deep in Tennessee's defense against the Gators, but did not return any kickoffs from the end zone.

Matthews missed fall camp with a hamstring injury and was unable to play in Tennessee's 69-3 win over Chattanooga in the season opener on August 31.

“We just had a passion for our football team,” Heupel said, “and the longevity, all in all, there were a few guys that we held out that could have played on this team but will hold on this week.”

Matthews led Tennessee's 2024 recruiting class as a five-star wide receiver from Lilburn, Georgia. He was ranked as the No. 26 overall player in the country by the On3 Industry Rankings. He was ranked as the No. 6 wide receiver in his class and the No. 4 player overall in the state of Georgia.

“Mike is someone who was banged up during training camp and had his development limited a little bit at the beginning of the year,” Heupel said Wednesday.

Mike Matthews vs. Kent State: 2 catches, 35 yards, 1 touchdown

Matthews' most playing time of the season so far was 11 games in a 71-0 win over Kent State on Sept. 14. He was targeted twice and caught both for 35 yards and a touchdown.

He caught an 18-yard pass from the backup quarterback Gaston Moore With 19 seconds left in the first half, Tennessee led 65-0 at halftime.

Matthews caught a 63-yard touchdown pass during the Orange & White Game in April at Neyland Stadium after enrolling early and joining the Vols in January.

“He can go up and get the ball high,” the Tennessee quarterback said Nico Iamaleava said after the split squad duel. “As you know, it's rare for something like this to come from young people, but I think Mike Matthews, he, I think we expected that from him.”