Tennessee's Hype Grows with Reinstatement of Playmaking WR Von Pearson

According to Dustin Dopirak of GoVolsXtra, it was announced on Wednesday that charges would not be filed against Tennessee senior wide receiver Von Pearson after he was suspended in April amid an investigation into a reported rape.

With that hurdle cleared, it only seemed like a matter of time before the 6'3" 187-pounder from Newport News, Virginia, would be reinstated to the football program and allowed to practice with his team as it kicks off fall camp.

That final hurdle was cleared on Friday, when Tennessee announced via Twitter that Pearson has officially been reinstated:

With that, the Tennessee hype train can now get back to full speed.

The wide receiving corps, once thought of as a position of strength and depth, had taken a slight step back due in part to Pearson's absence.

It was so much of a concern that true freshman quarterback Jauan Jennings—an early enrollee who was (and perhaps still is) vying for the backup quarterback job this spring behind Joshua Dobbs—moved to wide receiver this week to give head coach Butch Jones options.

"I thought that he would adapt and he's done a great job. He really has," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said in quotes released by Tennessee. "Of course, when you're the quarterback you have to know what the receivers are doing, but yet you don't know all their techniques and things like that. [Wide receivers coach] Zach Azzanni has done an excellent job of bringing him along. He's excited."

Sam Greenwood/Getty Images

Now, with Pearson back, it can be a position of strength again.

The Vols have a known commodity in junior Marquez North, an ultra-versatile weapon in Alton "Pig" Howard, a receiver with loads of potential in Josh Malone, a matchup nightmare in Jason Croom—who's coming off an ACL tear suffered last December—and reliable sophomore Josh Smith.

Add Pearson to the mix, and Jones and DeBord have plenty of options.

Pearson had 38 catches for 393 yards and five touchdowns a year ago, and he closed out his season strong with a career-high seven catches for 75 yards in the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl. According to Jack Farrell of Pro Football Focus, he was the most effective slot receiver in the conference:

When you factor in the possibility of Jones lining up running backs Alvin Kamara and Jalen Hurd with Joshua Dobbs in the same backfield, the offensive options on Rocky Top are mind-blowing.

"

Hey Vol fans: You ready for this trio of Dobbs, Hurd, and Kamara in the backfield? pic.twitter.com/ZfCT1sDrUC

— Nathanael Rutherford (@Mr_Rutherford) August 7, 2015"

The one question that the Tennessee offense—and, really, the Tennessee team as a whole—faces this year is up front, where the offensive line struggled to find consistency a year ago. It finished last in the SEC in sacks allowed with 43 and tackles for loss allowed with 101.

But it returns four starters and has depth for the first time in Jones' three seasons in Knoxville. He is confident that the time the offensive linemen had this offseason to further their development and familiarity with each other will help in the trenches.

"For the first time since we've been at Tennessee, we've been able to walk out of spring practice and have two full lines of scholarship players," Jones said at SEC media days. "The overall development and maturation of that group has come a long way. We have the competitive depth that's needed."

Is Tennessee the trendy pick to do some damage in 2015? Many have labeled it that way.

In reality, though, the Vols have the most stable roster in the SEC East by far, and Pearson's return only creates more separation.

Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Recruiting information courtesy of 247Sports. Statistics courtesy of cfbstats. Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and national college football video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a host on Bleacher Report Radio on Sirius 93 XM 208.

Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.