Receivers/Tight Ends
Daniel: It’s such a shame that Von Pearson went down. He looked fantastic with four early catches for 71 yards. Marquez North came up with four huge catches, two of them being impressive touchdown grabs. Josh Smith, Pig Howard, Ethan Wolf and Jason Croom all had their moments as well. Credit this group for some nice grabs, but there were a few drops and a time or two where it looked like they could’ve helped Justin Worley out more by giving a little more effort. A pretty strong performance overall, though. Depth will be tested if Pearson and/or Wolf are out for an extended time. Grade: A-
Houston: The pass-catchers for Tennessee continue to prove that they are the strength of this team. Von Pearson had 71 yards receiving on four catches before his injury during the second quarter. Marquez North hauled in two touchdowns and proved that he is a lethal weapon in the redzone (or any jump ball situation, for that matter). Jason Croom was dragging defenders and Josh Smith hurdled an ASU defensive back. There were a few drops sprinkled in, or this group would have been graded out with a perfect score. Grade: A
Reed: With Von Pearson, I’m convinced this unit is among the best group of receivers in the SEC. Pearson finally got to show off a bit of his ability in the first half before he went down. Marquez North stepped up with two big touchdown grabs. Pig Howard was solid and Josh Smith and Jason Croom are clearly improved. Ethan Wolf had a team-high five catches before exiting with a knee injury. It was a Wolf block that sprung Hurd’s 1st quarter touchdown run. If not for a dropped touchdown by Johnathon Johnson, they’d get an A. Grade: A-
