Linebackers
Daniel: The duo of A.J. Johnson and Jalen Reeves-Maybin was again all over the field. Both made several big plays on defense – combining for 20 tackles – and they showed up on special teams as well with Johnson blocking a field goal and JRM making a heads-up play to recover a ball that OU touched on a punt. Overall, they did a good job limiting the run game, though they were exposed in pass coverage a few times. I thought, overall, the LBs played winning football more often than not. Grade: B
Houston: You could see the difference in speed when OU players tried to get to the edge and Vol linebackers were forced into taking relief angles that resulted in positive runs. But, all things considered, it wasn’t a bad night for this group. A.J. Johnson and Jalen Reeves-Maybin were all over the field making plays against the run and getting some pressure on Trevor Knight when he tried to escape the pocket. Pass coverage was a slight struggle in this one as OU just had too much speed out of the backfield and in the middle of the field. Grade: B-
Reed: Pass coverage continues to be a weakness for the Vol linebackers. A.J. Johnson was exposed in this area multiple times. So was Jalen-Reeves Maybin. On the bright side, they were solid against the run and Johnson and JRM combined for 20 tackles. They repeatedly made big tackles in space and limited big plays for most of the night – with the exception of one TD run. Grade: B-
