Coaching
Nathanael: A
The execution by Tennessee’s players on Saturday wasn’t always spot on, especially on special teams and in the red zone on offense. But all in all, the coaching staff called a great game on both sides of the ball. Jim Chaney put his players in positions to succeed time and time again, and I thought both Pruitt and Derrick Ansley did a great job of maximizing their personnel against a struggling Missouri offense that got gifted several free opportunities by UT’s special teams and a fumble by Tim Jordan. Missouri only had one scoring drive that was all due to their own offensive luck and success. Otherwise, their scoring drives were on the first possession of the game (which was scripted well and saw Aubrey Solomon get knocked out of the game), after a blocked field goal, and after Jordan’s fumble.
Ben: A
Another game, another tremendous coaching job by Jeremy Pruitt and his coaching staff. Red zone struggles on offense continue to be a concern, but Jim Chaney called a beautiful game to allow Guarantano, Jennings, Palmer, and Callaway to have big games. Defensively, Tennessee just needed to call a game in which it didn’t allow Kelly Bryant to beat them. Derrick Ansley and Pruitt did exactly that.
