Receivers/Tight Ends
Daniel: Playing shorthanded, these guys still won their matchup against Georgia’s secondary for the most part. Ethan Wolf had a massive game with five catches for 69 yards. Considering the tight ends, as an entire unit, only had 97 yards in all of 2013, that’s a pretty good day. Josh Malone did a nice job in his first start with five grabs for 43 yards and a 20-yard run on a double reverse. Jason Croom (4 catches, 60 yards, TD) showed up as well after a rough trip to Oklahoma. Pig Howard contributed four catches, including a nice grab that pulled UT within one score in the fourth quarter. Marquez North was relatively quiet, though he got on the board with a late TD grab as well. This group will continue to be more and more of a strength going forward as it gets healthier and healthier. Grade: A
Houston: Ethan Wolf is a star in the making and already has more receiving yards this year than Vols tight ends had all of last season. Marquez North, Jason Croom, Josh Malone and Pig Howard all had some really nice plays in this one and are giving defenses difficulty with their versatility through four games. They have done this without anyone really stepping up as a go-to guy, so things are looking good for them moving forward. They need to show a little more consistency catching the football and separating from defenders on deeper routes, but this is an extremely talented group who will only get better when Von Pearson and Josh Smith return in the near future. Grade: B+
Reed: For a unit that wasn’t close to full strength, they played very, very well. Wolf proved how important he is to the team with multiple big blocks plus a team-high five catches for a team-high 69 yards. Daniel Helm made a nice play on Tennessee’s 2-point conversion. Jason Croom played up to his potential with several big catches (lesson: don’t be too quick to render college kids as “busts”) and Pig Howard had a big day after not being a major factor in Oklahoma. Josh Malone got going a bit as well. When Pearson and Smith return, watch out SEC. Grade: A
