Tennessee freshman Mike Matthews looked the part of a five-star receiver on the first touchdown catch of his Vols career.

It put a cherry on top of UT's shockingly lopsided first half, when he jumped out to a record-setting 65-0 lead.

On second-and-8 with 24 seconds remaining in the first half, backup quarterback Gaston Moore tossed a pass to Matthews, who streaking across the goal line. Matthews leaped into the air and over a Kent State defender to haul in the TD pass.

It was a glimpse of Matthews' talent. He was a five-star recruit and one of the top wide receivers in the 2024 class. But he missed season opener due to a nagging injury from preseason practice. He did not have a reception entering the Kent State game.

Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.

Get the latest news and insight on SEC football by subscribing to the SEC Unfiltered newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Mike Matthews: Tennessee five-star WR scores first touchdown vs Kent State