In-Depth Final Thoughts from Vols’ Loss to West Virginia

Offensive Line

The first play of the game was a nightmare for the offensive line. It appeared Brandon Kennedy completely whiffed on Kenny Bigelow of West Virginia, but Ryan Johnson went to run-block while the rest of the line went to pass-block. As a result, Johnson failed to slide to the left and pick up Bigelow, and Guarantano was sacked on a wide receiver screen. It didn’t get much better from that point on.

Good run-blocking: 16 (didn’t have a positive run block until the second quarter)

Poor run-blocking: 16

Provided protection in pass-pro: 27

Allowed pressure on the quarterback in pass-pro: 2

I was surprised to see how successful Tennessee was in pass-protection. Helton did a great job of calling plays that got the ball out of Guarantano’s hands quickly, and with West Virginia playing off Tennessee’s receivers, the Vols exploited it.

The inside of the line struggled more than the tackles. Trey Smith was rusty but was the elite version of Trey Smith at times. At right tackle, Drew Richmond didn’t have a great game, but he also didn’t have a bad game. He was just average. When Riley Locklear entered the game at left tackle for an injured Smith, he held his own, not allowing a pressure.

For the interior of the line, the opening quarter and a half were as bad as it gets. Jahmir Johnson, Brandon Kennedy, Ryan Johnson, and Chance Hall all had moments where they just completely missed on blocks and were out of position. The group was the reason the offense had just 14 yards on its first 15 players of the game. Freshman Jerome Carvin entered the game on the fourth possession and moved weight around. With Jahmir Johnson and Kennedy getting their legs under them, Carvin helped anchor a 17-play scoring drive spanning 78-yards that took 8:47 off the clock.

Kennedy is now lost for the season due to a torn ACL, and the offensive line will have to step up in a hurry, specifically the young guys. Against East Tennessee State, I’ll be looking at the communication among the line. Man-for-man, the Vols’ offensive lineman shouldn’t have any troubles.