There was a lot of hideous play by Tennessee Football at Neyland Stadium Saturday night, but the Vols were still able to pull out a victory over the Florida Gators in overtime. They can never take that for granted. Who held them back, though, and who pushed them forward? Here are our grades for each UT position group in their 23-17 win over Billy Napier’s team.
Quarterback: D
This is probably due to pass protection, but Nico Iamaleava is seeing ghost, and he’s making mistakes because of it. Iamaleava was 16-of-26 for 169 yards and no touchdowns with one interception. He lost a fumble on the opening drive and overthrew three wide open touchdown passes in the second half.
Running back: B+
Dylan Sampson may have done enough to warrant an A, but he did average under three yards a carry up until midway through the fourth quarter, and DeSean Bishop struggled in pass protection. Still, Sampson had 27 carries for 112 yards and three touchdowns while catching two passes for seven yards, and Bishop had seven carries for 24 yards.
Tight end: C+
You could really give an incomplete to this Tennessee Football position group. Iamaleava missed Ethan Davis wide open twice. Still, Davis had two catches for 10 yards, and Holden Staes had two catches for five yards. Not making any mistakes allows this unit to teeter on above average, but it didn’t to much.
Wide receiver: C-
Maybe this is harsh since Squirrel White is banged up, but he slowed down on a touchdown pass he should’ve caught, and he missed a block on a screen that could’ve broken free for a big game. There were numerous missed routes too. White did have five catches for 71 yards, and Chas Nimrod and Chris Brazzell II got open, but again, they could have done more.
Offensive line: D+
Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and Andrej Karic did a superb job blocking in the middle for Tennessee Football. It didn’t matter. John Campbell Jr. and Lance Heard were once again atrocious in pass protection for a second straight week, allowing three sacks, and that was enough to push this grade below average.
Defensive line: A+
James Pearce Jr. forced a fumble, and the Vols had three sacks as well. Bryson Eason, Omari Thomas, Tyre West and Joshua Josephs all made big plays as well and deserve a shoutout. The UT defensive front held Florida to just 138 yards on 40 carries, and they didn’t do anything wrong, so they get a perfect score for this one.
Linebacker: B+
With Keenan Pili going down, Jeremiah Telander came in and got beat on too many tight end misdirection plays and passes over the middle. However, he still made quite a few good plays, and Arion Carter was a superstar for the Vols, coming down with an interception to set up a field goal, so this unit is still extremely close to an A.
Defensive back: A-
Will Brooks out of position on Florida’s 3rd and 18 game-tying touchdown is the only reason this isn’t an A+. Boo Carter had his breakout game, Rickey Gibson III made plays, and Jermod McCoy was a lockdown cornerback, breaking up two key pass plays out on an island, one on fourth down, so this unit still gets an A.
Kicker: A+
Mas Gilbert made his only field goal attempt, a 35-yarder, and hit every extra points. All four of Josh Turbyville’s kickoffs went for touchbacks as well, so while there wasn’t a standout difference-making play in this aspect of the game, it was still perfect, so the A+ is warranted. Gilbert is an underrated weapon.
Punter: B-
Jackson Arnold flipped the field late and averaged 45.6 yards per punt on seven punts, pinning three inside the 20-yard line. However, his line drive punts allowed too many solid returns by Florida. Gators punt returner Chimere Dike ran back one punt for 30 yards and another for 27. If Arnold doesn’t add more hang time, one team is going to run one back.
Return game: B+
McCoy made up for the punt return coverage issues with with two returns that went for 17 yards each. However, he did bobble one of those punts, and he fair-caught another punt that he should have fielded. That is enough to give the Tennessee Football punt game an above average grade that still doesn’t warrant anything in the A-range.
Coaching: C
Play-calling by Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle was once again extremely questionable, particularly when he got greedy late with some deep shots despite Iamaleava not playing well. However, Tim Banks gets an A-, his only flaw not bringing pressure on that 3rd and 18 touchdown by Florida, and his play-calling was enough to keep this grade average for Tennessee Football.
