Tennessee receiver Squirrel White overcame a nagging shoulder injury to lead the Vols to an early score they wouldn’t relinquish in a 33-14 win over Mississippi State on Saturday.
The play came on a fourth-and-six when quarterback Nico Iamaleava found slot receiver Squirrel White for his first touchdown of the season.
“It was amazing getting into the end zone for the first time this season,” White said of the 34-yard reception.
White caught three passes for 63 yards against Mississippi State. That stat line would have almost certainly been more impressive had starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava not been sidelined at halftime with an upper body injury. The Vols’ offense certainly lost some pop without Iamaleava, but backup quarterback Gaston Moore never put the Vols in danger of losing the game.
“I think the biggest thing is we have a lot of confidence in Gas,” Tennessee center Cooper Mays said. “We didn’t really skip a beat mentally or physically. Just next-guy-up mentality and I think Gaston’s been been ready for that all year.”
White had a special fan in the stands to witness his first touchdown this season. His newborn son was in the stands to soak in dad’s first score.
“It was amazing,” White said. “I know he was watching, smiling and stuff like that in the stands, but it’s a great feeling just knowing that he in the stands watching me, each and every opportunity I get just to put a smile on his face. When I’m on the field, I do it for him.”
Moore’s play was solid against Mississippi State, but not spectacular. He completed five of eight passes for 38 yards and ran the ball twice for three yards.
“Not really an issue,” Mays said of the Vols moving forward without Iamaleava on Saturday. “We got stuff to do. We can talk about stuff later, but with the offense we play and the type of game we play, we got to get going quick. So next man up mentality, we were just going ahead with it.
The Vols were able to run the ball for 240 yards against State, which often time tried to load the tackle box in order to try to stop the Vols’ vaunted running attack.
“I enjoy it,” Mays said of the run-first approach. “I think that’s kind of our our M.O. and mantra. That’s what we want to be about is, is being physical up front and able to move the ball even when you know the odds aren’t really in our favor right there.
“I thought we did a good job of it. I thought it was a physical game. Got yards when we needed to and just did what we needed to do and score.”
