PFF Grades: Tennessee vs. Kent State

Let’s see how the Vols graded out.

Elite grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Replaceable = 60 >

Offensive Grades (minimum 12 plays — 15% of offensive plays)

QB Gaston Moore — 93.0 (12 plays)

RB DeSean Bishop — 87.1 (14 plays)

RB Dylan Sampson — 82.4 (31 plays)

WR Dont’e Thornton — 79.2 (22 plays)

TE Holden Staes — 75.1 (13 plays)

RT John Campbell Jr. — 74.6 (24 plays)

WR Chris Brazzell — 72.0 (33 plays)

WR Squirrel White — 71.4 (14 plays)

RB Peyton Lewis — 70.6 (19 plays)

WR Kaleb Webb — 69.8 (31 plays)

OG Ayden Bussell — 68.8 (31 plays)

LT Dayne Davis — 67.0 (39 plays)

RG Javontez Spraggins — 65.3 (39 plays)

WR Mike Matthews — 64.4 (17 plays)

WR Chas Nimrod — 61.9 (33 plays)

QB Jake Merklinger — 60.1 (19 plays)

OT Jesse Perry — 59.6 (20 plays)

C Cooper Mays — 59.2 (29 plays)

C William Satterwhite — 59.7 (16 plays)

WR Bru McCoy — 58.5 (29 plays)

TE Miles Kitselman — 57.6 (21 plays)

OT Bennett Warren — 57.3 (15 plays)

OG Jackson Lampley — 56.8 (33 plays)

OT Larry Johnson III — 55.5 (31 plays)

OG Andrej Karic — 55.8 (12 plays)

WR Braylon Staley — 54.8 (24 plays)

OG Sham Umarov — 53.9 (16 plays)

OG Max Anderson — 52.7 (27 plays)

C Vysen Lang — 51.8 (27 plays)

TE Ethan Davis — 51.0 (12 plays)

TE Titus Rohrer — 50.0 (15 plays)

OG Gage Ginther — 47.1 (19 plays)

QB Nico Iamaleava — 44.8 (39 plays)

Let’s start with the most interesting aspect of the offensive grades— the quarterbacks. I wasn’t surprised to see Gaston Moore lead the way on the offensive side of the ball with Tennessee’s best grade but I was surprised to see Nico Iamaleava have the worst grade. Watching live, I didn’t think that Iamaleava played his best game but I certainly didn’t think he was as bad as the grades indicated.

Now I was not surprised by Tennessee’s running backs being at the top. Both Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop were incredibly efficient running the ball while Peyton Lewis also had a really nice day.

More From RTI: Why Kent State Declined A Running Clock In Blowout Loss Against Tennessee

Defensive Grades (minimum of 9 plays — 20% of defensive plays)

LEO Josh Josephs — 89.1 (15 plays)

CB Jalen McMurray — 88.6 (9 plays)

DT Omarr Norman-Lott — 88.5 (11 plays)

LEO James Pearce Jr — 83.7 (14 plays)

S Will Brooks — 78.4 (12 plays)

LB Arion Carter — 77.2 (19 plays)

LB Jeremiah Telander — 76.2 (12 plays)

LB Edwin Spillman — 75.0 (17 plays)

CB Jermod McCoy — 74.6 (24 plays)

DT Bryson Eason — 74.0 (11 plays)

DE Jayson Jenkins — 73.0 (11 plays)

LB Kalib Perry — 72.5 (12 plays)

S Andre Turrentine — 70.5 (24 plays)

DT Nathan Robinson — 70.1 (15 plays)

DT Elijah Simmons — 70.1 (9 plays)

DE Tyree Weathersby — 68.4 (13 plays)

CB Kaleb Beasley — 65.8 (21 plays)

LB Keenan Pili — 65.3 (12 plays)

DT Omari Thomas — 65.2 (11 plays)

CB Rickey Gibson — 65.0 (12 plays)

STAR Christian Harrison — 64.5 (12 plays)

CB Montrell Bandy — 63.8 (17 plays)

S John Slaughter — 63.7 (19 plays)

S Jakobe Thomas — 62.0 (11 plays)

DT Jamal Wallace — 60.5 (15 plays)

DE Dominic Bailey — 60.4 (10 plays)

STAR Boo Carter — 59.8 (14 plays)

S Edrees Farooq — 58.9 (27 plays)

LB Jalen Smith — 58.6 (13 plays)

CB Jordan Matthews — 55.5 (30 plays)

DE Kellen Lindstrom — 54.8 (20 plays)

Josh Josephs had more hype around him during fall camp than any other Tennessee player. Through three games this season, Josephs has an 82.9 grade and has been one of the Vols’ top defenders.

Tennessee’s young linebackers had a really nice day against Kent State. Sophomores Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander were two of the top six graded defenders while freshman Edwin Spillman was not far behind in his career debut.