Secondary
Daniel: Outside of some late errors by reserves, I thought the secondary was very good. Cam Sutton missed a tackle on the opening series, but was virtually flawless outside of that and would’ve had an interception and nice return if not for a penalty on Reeves-Maybin. LaDarrell McNeil had a nice interception in the end zone to keep Iowa off the board that drive and was second in tackles with seven. Brian Randolph had a strong hit in the first half to go along with a fumble recovery, and was steady all night. Like the rest of the defense, the numbers got skewed by Iowa’s late scores, but when it counted, the Vols were very good. Grade: A
Houston: The final stats for Iowa quarterbacks – after a fourth quarter that saw the Vols pull their defensive starters – were a combined 15-of-31 for 177 yards, two late touchdowns and an interception. The Hawkeyes never found anything consistent in the passing game until the end, and Tennessee’s defensive backs deserve a lot of credit for that. Cam Sutton missed a tackle in the first quarter that led to a big gain for the Hawkeyes, but was essentially perfect from that point on. LaDarrell McNeil had an interception in the end zone that ended an Iowa scoring threat and Brian Randolph had an early de-cleating hit on an Iowa receiver that really set the tone for the day. The late scores hurt the grade some, but not much. Grade: A-
Reed: Outside of a missed tackle by Cam Sutton early in the game, the Vol starting defensive backs played very well. Sutton would have recorded a beautiful interception if not for a Reeves-Maybin hold and defended several passes. LaDarrell McNeil saved a touchdown with a clutch interception and added seven tackles. Randolph set the tone for the game early with a massive hit and Justin Coleman, who had been picked on all year, was more than solid in his last game as a Vol. Grade: A
Average Grade: A
