Linebackers
Nathanael: ??
I have no idea how to grade Tennessee’s linebacker group. They played the entire first half without Henry To’o To’o at inside linebacker, then they played a large chunk of the second quarter then the entire second half without Daniel Bituli after a questionable targeting call. So there was a point in the second quarter where UT was without either To’o To’o or Bituli on defense. With the dearth of depth UT has at inside linebacker, those two absences were brutal. Yet, the Vols’ linebacking corps still played pretty well all things considered. They still aren’t great in pass coverage, but Quavaris Crouch had some decent moments, and I was pleasantly surprised with J.J. Peterson actually making some tackles and showing up on the stat sheet. I don’t think he made any big impact plays, but he at least gave UT some snaps at ILB when they desperately needed them.
Still, Darrell Taylor and the rest of UT’s outside linebackers failed to really do much in this game (besides draw a weak penalty that shouldn’t have been called), which is discouraging after the great game Taylor played against Mississippi State last week.
Ben: D+
Tennessee’s linebackers struggled against the run as well. It didn’t help that at one point, Daniel Bituli and Henry To’oto’o were out of the game at the same time due to targeting ejections. As a result, Solon Page and JJ Peterson were called into action. The group played tough, but they weren’t necessarily efficient. Tennessee’s outside linebackers didn’t generate a ton of pressure, either.
