One of the most shocking losses of Josh Heupel’s tenure with Tennessee Football can be pinned on a lot of people, but that doesn’t mean everybody was bad for the Vols as they fell to the Arkansas Razorbacks 19-14 on the road Saturday night. Here is our report card, with grades for each unit, regarding UT’s play in such a bad loss.
Quarterback: D+
He had very little help, but Nico Iamaleava was honestly awful. Missing Squirrel White for a touchdown pass and panicking on that final drive mean that his 17-of-29 for 158 yards were not some fluke. The kid just played that poorly in a game that was made for him to be able to make big plays. As a result, he gets a below average grade.
Running backs: A-
DeSean Bishop missed a block in the second half that was a killer for Tennessee Football. If not for that, this would be an A+. He still had three carries for 19 yards, and Dylan Sampson had 22 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Despite issues in blocking, Sampson ran hard all night, which makes this the bright spot of the offense.
Wide receivers: B
Lack of separation works against them, and there were a few dropped passes, but the wide receivers had very few chances to make plays. Either Iamaleava was sacked before getting the ball to them, or he totally misread their routes. Either way, I’m giving this unit an above average grade because they did very little wrong, particularly since Bru McCoy, Dont’e Thornton and Squirrel White all got hurt at times.
Tight ends: F
Miles Kitselman had two catches for 24 yards. That should be enough to get this unit a D, right? Wrong. Kitselman had an awful game, and Holden Staes couldn’t make any plays happen either. Staes ran the wrong route twice, Kitselman broke on a route too soon and committed a penalty, and neither were helpful in pass protection. They failed as a unit.
Offensive line: D
Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and Andrej Karic get an A for their second half performance. However, a penalty by Karic, missed block by Spraggins and poor run-blocking in general give the unit a first half F. Then there are the tackles, John Campbell Jr. and Lance Heard, and they both deserve F grades all night, so by logic, the offensive line gets a clear D.
Defensive line: B+
Getting tired late works against this unit, which is partially because Tennessee Football was banged up by that point. However, against a tough, physical offense, this unit was very good for most of the game, winning the battles up front and limiting what the Hogs could do in the run game. They still get beyond an above average grade.
Linebackers: A-
Arion Carter, Keenan Pili and Jeremiah Telander did an incredible job staying at home against a mobile quarterback in Taylen Green for most of the night before he got hurt. Pili had 14 tackles, Carter had one and a half tackles for a loss and a pass deflection, and Telander had a key fourth down stop. The late drive pushes this grade to an A-, but the unit overall was elite.
Defensive backs: C
Green dropped a lot of dimes, so we have to be fair here, but he and Malachi Singleton combined to go 21 of 30 for 297 yards. That’s nearly 10 yards an attempt, and while there were no touchdowns, there were also no interceptions. Tennessee Football could have played much better in the secondary, even if it wasn’t their fault too much.
Place kicking: A+
Max Gilbert hit both extra points, and every Josh Turbyville went for a touchback. Unfortunately for the Vols, it made little impact, largely because Josh Heupel didn’t give Gilbert a chance to try a long field goal, which he could have done in the first half. Letting the Hogs score late also ended a chance for Gilbert to kick a game-winner.
Punting: C+
Jackson Ross averaged 42.7 yards per punt on seven punts, and one went for a touchback while only two pinned Arkansas inside the 20. He was average for most of the night, which is not his standard. Add in the fact that Devin Bale for Arkansas averaged 57.3 yards per punt on three punts and won the field position battle, and this was a bad look.
Return game: D-
Although Cameron Seldon had a 24-yard kickoff return, it just got the Vols to the 25-yard line. That doesn’t outweigh Jordan Ross’ crucial running into the kicker mistake, which was almost enough to give this unit an F alone. It was a mistake in the second half that you simply can’t make, and it’s enough to give this a well below average score.
Coaching: F
Heupel didn’t go to 12-personnel earlier to give Iamaleava time to throw, he mismanaged the clock at the end of the first half, he made a crucial mistake letting the Hogs score since it took away a shot at winning the game with a field goal, and he let 17 seconds run off on a play on the final drive. Simply put, his mistakes cost Tennessee Football, and he deserves a lot of blame.
