Tennessee football aced its first test of the 2024 football season Saturday night as the Vols dominated NC State 51-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic in Charlotte.
Each week, we’ll look at the Tennessee football stock report from the game before. After a 41-point win over a top 25 win, the Vol football stock market is booming.
Here’s a look at the Tennessee football stock report following its win over NC State.
More From RTI: Tennessee Jumps In Top 10 Following Win Over NC State
Stock Up
Offensive Line
NC State has consistently been a strong defensive team under head coach Dave Doeren and the expectation is that it’ll continue this season.
Tennessee didn’t play a perfect game offensively but they did completely control the line of scrimmage. The Vols lined up and ran it at NC State all game, rushing for 249 yards on 44 carries. With only two runs over 30 yards, Tennessee averaged 5.7 yards per carry. They simply lined it up and ran it right at the Wolfpack with consistent success.
Tennessee’s offensive front didn’t have a perfect night in pass protection but they were pretty solid. Time will tell whether this is an offensive line that can have consistent success against elite defensive fronts, but they proved they’re one that can control the game against a solid one.
Dylan Sampson
Entering the game we already knew that Dylan Sampson was one of the most talented playmakers in the SEC who could make some jaw dropping plays.
But for Sampson to run the ball 20 times and catch three more passes, the junior proved that he can be a bell cow back that Tennessee can lean on in a big game. He showed his talent with the large workload too, totaling 169 yards while consistently running the ball well between the tackles.
I entered the game thinking Sampson is one of the best playmakers in the SEC. I left the game thinking he’s one of the best running backers in the SEC.
Secondary
Tennessee’s secondary was its biggest question entering the season and as we discussed last week, we didn’t learn much about them in the season opener against Chattanooga.
But NC State had the offensive weapons and passing game to test Tennessee’s secondary. The Vols held up well. Now, the pass rush was a big part of it. They made life easier for the secondary but they’re going to do that all season.
At corner: Rickey Gibson allowed two catches for 20 yards on two targets and Jermod McCoy allowed six catches for 26 yards on eight targets. At safety, Will Brooks made the play of the game with a pick six while Andre Turrentine and Jakobe Thomas both did good things.
I’m not all of a sudden convinced that Tennessee’s secondary is elite, but I also don’t think it’s going to be debilitating either.
Miles Kitselman
Miles Kitselman caught two passes in two seasons at Texas. In his second game at Tennessee, Kitselman caught three passes for 39 yards and a touchdown. He caught another 59 yard touchdown that was called back.
Tennessee talked all fall camp that Kitselman was going to have a real and consistent role. He’s proved that to be true and that Tennessee has a strong three tight end rotation.
And not only does he look like a good blocking tight end but a capable receiving one.
Stock Holding
Defensive Line
I know what you’re thinking. Tennessee totaled three sacks, 13 tackles for loss and held NC State to just 39 rushing yards. How is the defensive lines stock not up?
Well Tennessee wasn’t afraid to tell us this offseason that its defensive line was one of the best in the country. And I believed them. I thought this was a stout group with star power, depth and players poised to breakout.
They played like it against NC State. Tyre West looks like a new star as does Josh Josephs. Omari Thomas, Bryson Eason and Omarr Norman-Lott are all really good players in the middle.
I entered the NC State game thinking that Tennessee had one of the best defensive lines in the country. They looked like it.
Nico Iamaleava
Iamaleava had a pretty pedestrian stat line, completing 16-of-23 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while adding 65 rushing yards and one touchdown.
It wasn’t a launching pad for Iamaleava’s Heisman campaign but it was still a solid performance. As previously stated, Tennessee’s game plan was to line up and run it right at NC State. That led to them not asking a ton out of Iamaleava.
In his first true test, Iamaleava made some mistakes but also responded to them the right ways. He also showed he can make plays with his feet when Tennessee needs them to. My opinion about Iamaleava remained the same following the win.
Stock Down
Nothing
I try to find at least one thing to place in the stock down category but I just can’t genuinely say there’s an area that I feel legitimately worse about for Tennessee.
If I had to say something, I would say the receivers because the Vols didn’t throw to them a ton in this game. But I don’t really feel worse about that group. I think it was just the game plan against NC State’s 3-35 defense as the Vols ran an abundance of 12 personnel.
