Jalin Hyatt

Jalin Daveon Hyatt (born September 25, 2001) is an American football wide receiver for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee, where he won the Fred Biletnikoff Award and was voted a unanimous All-American in 2022 after setting program records for single-season and single-game touchdown receptions.

Early years
Hyatt was born on September 25, 2001, in Irmo, South Carolina, a suburb of nearby Columbia. He is the oldest son of Jamie, a former college basketball player and semi-professional cyclist, and Enevelyn Hyatt, who was a collegiate sprinter. Both of his parents later worked as school teachers. His younger brother Devin plays football for the Arizona Wildcats.

Hyatt attended Dutch Fork High School in Irmo. During his high school career, he set school records for career receiving yards with 3,624 and receiving touchdowns with 57. Hyatt would help Dutch Fork go undefeated and win state championships in 2018 and 2019. In the 2019 state championship game he caught 3 touchdowns, including the overtime game winner. Following his senior season, Hyatt was named a finalist for South Carolina's Mr. Football Award. He ended his high school career as a four-star prospect at wide receiver according to 247Sports. Hyatt was ranked the 144th player in the 2020 class. Despite his success in high school, Hyatt was not recruited by in-state programs Clemson and South Carolina due to their concerns of his small frame as he weighed only 153 lb at the time. Concerns over his weight even led South Carolina head coach Will Muschamp to tell him "Man, you're fast, but you need to eat more peanut butter". Hyatt announced his commitment to play college football at Virginia Tech in February 2019, but reopened his recruitment in June of the same year. On July 27, 2019, he committed to the University of Tennessee to play under head coach Jeremy Pruitt. “Jalin’s a guy that is very polished," Vols coach Pruitt said. He also said Hyatt can play all three wide receiver positions for the Vols.

2020 season
On October 3, 2020, Hyatt recorded his first college reception in a 35–12 victory over Missouri. On October 24, Hyatt caught his first collegiate touchdown, a 38-yard pass from Jarrett Guarantano, in a 48–17 loss to Alabama. The touchdown was part of a season-high 86 receiving yards for Hyatt. He scored one other receiving touchdown on the season, against Vanderbilt on December 12.

Hyatt finished his freshman season with 20 receptions for 276 yards and two touchdowns.

2021 season
Entering his sophomore season, Hyatt was expected to be a breakout player for Tennessee. However, he battled with injuries and a lack of playing time, starting just one game and ultimately finished the season with 21 receptions for 226 yards and two touchdowns.

2022 season
Entering his junior season, Hyatt was once again viewed as a possible breakout player by many, including Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel, with Heupel citing Hyatt's improved strength and confidence as potential keys to his success. In Tennessee's second game of the year, Hyatt recorded a career-high 11 receptions in a 34–27 overtime victory at #17 Pittsburgh. The following week, Hyatt recorded his first career 100-yard game in a 166-yard performance against Akron. Following an injury to fellow wide receiver Cedric Tillman, Hyatt would emerge as Tennessee's top pass-catching target. On October 15, 2022, Hyatt had a breakout performance against rival #3 Alabama, recording a career-high 207 receiving yards and catching a school-record five touchdowns in a 52–49 upset win, the Volunteers first win over Alabama since 2006. For his performance against Alabama he was named the SEC Offensive Player of the week. Hyatt followed his historic performance against Alabama with another strong performance the following week catching seven passes for 174 yards and two touchdowns in a blowout win over UT-Martin. The next week on October 29, 2022, Hyatt broke the Tennessee record for single-season touchdown receptions, catching his 14th touchdown of the season in a 44–6 win over Kentucky. The following week Tennessee traveled to play Georgia in an undefeated matchup between the teams ranked #1 in the CFP and AP Poll rankings, respectively. Hyatt and the Tennessee offense would be held in check by Georgia's physical defense in a 27–13 loss in which Hyatt failed to score. Hyatt bounced back the following week against Missouri where he caught seven passes for 146 yards including a 68-yard touchdown from quarterback Hendon Hooker en route to a 66–24 victory. Hyatt returned to his home state to play against the South Carolina Gamecocks, whose stadium is located only about 20 miles (32 km) from his childhood home in the nearby town Irmo, South Carolina. Against the Gamecocks he recorded six catches for 67 yards as Tennessee lost 38–63 in an upset that all but ended the Volunteers playoff aspirations. Hyatt finished the regular season with a three-catch, 83-yard performance against rival Vanderbilt in a 56–0 win. He ended the 2022 season with 67 catches for 1,267 yards and 15 touchdowns. His 1,267 receiving yards were the second most in school history, trailing Marcus Nash's 1997 season by 31 yards. Hyatt led the SEC in receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.

At the conclusion of the season, Hyatt was named the Fred Biletnikoff Award winner for the nation's best receiver, making him the first Tennessee player to win the award. He was also named a unanimous All-American, the Volunteers' first since Eric Berry in 2009.

Professional career
Hyatt was selected by the New York Giants in the third round as the 73rd overall pick in the 2023 NFL draft. On May 15, he signed his rookie contract with the team. He signed a 4 year contract. The deal was for 5.62 million with a 1 million dollar signing bonus.

Hyatt was held without a catch in his NFL debut. The following week against the Arizona Cardinals, he caught two passes for 89 yards, including a 58-yard reception while the Giants were trailing, 20–0, that was cited by quarterback Daniel Jones as being "key" to the Giants comeback to win the game, 31–28. During Week 12 against the New England Patriots, Hyatt won the NFL's Pepsi offensive rookie of the week. Hyatt posted his first career 100-receiving yard game as he finished with 109 receiving yards. The Giants won 10–7. He finished his rookie season with 23 receptions for 373 receiving yards in 17 games and seven starts.