With just about one minute remaining in the first half, Tennessee was looking to move the ball starting on their own one-yard line against Florida. The Vols made it up to about the 21-yard line and sent wide receiver Ramel Keyton to the far right side of the field.
Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker received the snap as Keyton made a dash down the left sideline.
Hooker launched a deep, arching pass that dropped in the hands of a diving Keyton around the Gators’ 40-yard line. Keyton’s full-extension, Superman-like catch was undoubtedly a thing of beauty and is one of the best catches of the modern era in Tennessee Football.
“I watched it a lot,” Keyton said on Wednesday about his catch. “Going through the play – I got a clean release, it was a speed release, I stacked him a little bit. When the ball was in the air, I really wasn’t trying to dive for it. I was trying to run under it, but I saw the flight of the ball was going a little far, so I just stretched out for it. Then, I just lugged it in.”
Keyton is a four-year experienced wide receiver for Tennessee. While he has never really been the focal point of Tennessee’s wide receivers, the Marietta, GA native has always been around and able to provide critical and quality depth for Tennessee’s up-tempo offense. All of that experience helped Keyton haul in the 43-yard reception against Florida.
“I catch a lot of deep balls, like after practice and over the summer, so you can kind of tell the different flights of the ball,” Keyton said. “Just repping that. Catching the ball and lugging it in, practicing things like that.”
WHAT. A. CATCH.@Wlmel10 #GBO 🍊 pic.twitter.com/mMzeEU9aU4
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 27, 2022
More from RTI: What Heupel Said Went Wrong For Tennessee In Final Minutes Against Florida
Unreal effort here 😱
pic.twitter.com/rVNGwa9urK— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 24, 2022
All in all, Keyton finished the game with three receptions for 69 yards, upping his season total to eight receptions for 183 yards.
In the 33 career games that he has played with Tennessee since 2019, Keyton has 28 receptions for 435 yards and one touchdown. However, 2022 seems to be Keyton’s money year. Keyton already has the most yards in a season of his career and is just two receptions shy of bringing in the most receptions in a season during his career.
While he hasn’t been one of Tennessee’s three starters (excluding injury) this season, Ramel Keyton has still proven to be a critical receiver in the rotation for Josh Heupel’s offensive unit.
Not to mention, that catch also gives vibes of this spectacular play in 2016. It was nearly the exact same spot on Tennessee’s field.
