Tennessee football opened SEC play with a dominant 25-15 win over Oklahoma on Saturday night in Norman. The final score wasn’t super lopsided but it didn’t adequately represent how lopsided the game was.
Each week, we’ll look at the Tennessee football stock report from the game before. There was plenty to glean in the first SEC win despite a conservative offensive game plan.
Here’s a look at the Tennessee football stock report following its win over Oklahoma
Stock Up
Backup Safeties
I was skeptical of Jakobe Thomas all offseason after he transferred in from MTSU. But he keeps playing solid football and he did so again against Oklahoma. He plays with an intensity and physicality that matches Tennessee’s front seven.
The Tullahoma, Tennessee native was fantastic tackling and in the run game against Oklahoma. He was also very solid in coverage against the Sooners.
Fellow backup safety Christian Charles didn’t play against either NC State or Kent State but he returned to the field against Oklahoma and played 20 snaps, recording two tackles— including one in space on a screen play— and a quarterback hurry.
Josh Josephs
Josh Josephs had played well enough through three games to justify the preseason hype that he was getting from Tennessee players and coaches. But Josephs took it to a whole new level against Oklahoma.
The junior LEO recorded three tackles, one tackle for loss and forced two fumbles including one of the plays of the game at the goal line in the second quarter. Josephs was absolutely dominant in the run game and while he didn’t record a sack, he did record three quarterback hurries on 17 pass rush snaps.
In Tennessee’s first SEC game, Josephs looked like an All-SEC defensive lineman.
Jackson Ross
Tennessee punter Jackson Ross got very little work in Tennessee’s first three games this season. He got a ton of work against the Sooners, punting eight times in the Vols’ win.
Ross looked like an absolute weapon. His average punt distance was 48.4 yards, he had three punts over 50 yards and he pinned Oklahoma inside its own 20-yard line twice. One of those was a bomb that pinned the Sooners at the four-yard line and eventually led to a safety.
Ross rugby style also makes it hard for opponents to have successful returns against Tennessee. He is a true weapon for the Vols right now.
Stock Hold
DeSean Bishop
This stock hold for DeSean Bishop is because the stock was already high. Coming out of the NC State and Kent State games, it felt like Bishop was for sure Tennessee’s second running back. That proved to be the case against Oklahoma when Cam Seldon was healthy and played only two snaps while Bishop played 24.
Bishop didn’t look like a superstar but he ran well, totaling 65 yards on 16 carries. The redshirt freshman running back also was also really sound in pass protection which could prove important if Tennessee’s offensive line remains banged up.
Offensive Line Depth
While the DeSean Bishop stock hold was because I was already high on them, the offensive line depth stock hold is because I was already low on them.
I wrote last week that Tennessee’s offensive line backups struggling against Kent State at times was worrisome. That proved to be the case at Oklahoma when Lance Heard missed the full game and John Campbell played just 34 snaps before suffering an injury in the second quarter.
With two backup offensive linemen in the game, Tennessee struggled to protect Nico Iamaleava against a good pass rush. That’s a big reason why the Vols went very conservative offensively in this game. If something keeps Tennessee’s offense from reaching its ceiling this year than I think it’ll be offensive line injuries and an inability to protect Iamaleava.
Stock Down
Chris Brazzell
Tulane transfer Chris Brazzell seemed like the most likely Tennessee receiver to become the true go-to star in this offense. But after a nice debut against Chattanooga, Brazzell hasn’t done much.
That continued against Oklahoma where he caught just one pass for zero yards. He was targeted five times and Tennessee did call a conservative game. So it doesn’t feel wise to give up on Brazzell by any means.
But, for me, his stock is down leaving the Oklahoma game.
