Special Teams
Nathanael: B
You can tell Tennessee’s special teams unit really misses some of the players off the roster the last couple years. Trevor Daniel is no longer booming punts, and Evan Berry is no longer returning kickoffs. The Vols’ special teams didn’t do poorly by any means on Saturday, but they didn’t really make a huge impact either. Joe Doyle was average at best as a punter, but three of his six punts did get downed inside the 20. Tennessee didn’t have any big returns other than a late 41-yard return by Nigel Warrior, and they didn’t attempt any field goals. The coverage units did a good job containing the dangerous Marcus Simms.
Ben: C+
Tennessee didn’t make any splash plays on special teams aside from Nigel Warrior’s big kick return to give the Vols the ball near midfield and Alontae Taylor’s blocked punt. Even Taylor’s blocked punt didn’t help out as the football ended up rolling 40 yards down the field. Joe Doyle punted the ball six times on the afternoon for an average of 38 yards and a long of 44-yards. Brent Cimaglia didn’t have a field goal attempt on the day, but did connect on his two extra-point attempts. Both Tennessee’s coverages on kickoffs and punts had nice afternoons.
