Tennessee football earned its first SEC win of the season Saturday night when the Vols knocked off South Carolina 41-20 inside Neyland Stadium. The Vols move to 4-1 with the victory ahead of their open date.
Each week, we’ll share how the Vols graded out according to Pro Football Focus grades.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Virginia grades.
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 18 plays — 25% of offensive plays)
TE Jacob Warren — 77.6 (52 plays)
RG Javontez Spraggins — 73.9 (74 plays)
RB Dylan Sampson — 72.2 (24 plays)
C Cooper Mays — 71.8 (70 plays)
RB Jaylen Wright — 71.3 (30 plays)
RT Gerald Mincey — 70.2 (74 plays)
WR Squirrel White — 69.2 (69 plays)
WR Chas Nimrod —68.1 (19 plays)
WR Bru McCoy — 65.9 (25 plays)
LT John Campbell — 63.8 (74 plays)
TE McCallan Castles — 58.3 (28 plays)
WR Ramel Keyton — 56.2 (73 plays)
QB Joe Milton III — 53.7 (74 plays)
WR Kaleb Webb — 53.6 (30 plays)
LG Ollie Lane — 51.7 (74 plays)
RB Jabari Small — 49.9 (20 plays)
It was Tennessee’s best game of the season but ironically I felt like it was Joe Milton’s worst. The PFF numbers bare it out too. Tennessee’s offensive line gave Milton plenty of time to throw but he was inaccurate on a number of throws and had two bad interceptions.
About that offensive line. The Vols got Cooper Mays back and played the same five guys all game. It led to the best offensive line performance of the season. Javontez Spraggins, Mays and Gerald Mincey all had strong games and graded out in the top six of Vols’ offensive players.
Tennessee’s running backs unsurprisingly graded out really well after combining for 238 yards. Tight end Jacob Warren also may have played the best game of his career.
More From RTI: It Was Personal For Tennessee Football Against South Carolina
Defensive Grades (minimum of 16 plays — 25% of defensive plays)
DE Tyler Baron — 90.7 (37 plays)
S Wesley Walker — 82.2 (64 plays)
DT Bryson Eason — 81.0 (23 plays)
LEO James Pearce Jr. — 79.6 (37 plays)
DT Omarr Norman-Lott — 79.6 (26 plays)
S Jaylen McCollough — 74.0 (61 plays)
CB Kamal Hadden — 73.9 (57 plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 71.8 (25 plays)
LEO Roman Harrison — 70.4 (34 plays)
CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally — 70.2 (58 plays)
DT Omari Thomas — 70.0 (27 plays)
LB Elijah Herring — 69.6 (36 plays)
STAR Tamarion McDonald — 68.6 (61 plays)
DT Kurrott Garland — 67.7 (18 plays)
LB Aaron Beasley — 57.5 (53 plays)
It was no surprise that Tennessee’s edge rushers graded out well. James Pearce earned two sacks and a strong grade. Tyler Baron didn’t get a sack but he lived in the backfield and earned the Vols’ highest grades.
Tennessee played all five linebackers in meaningful snaps. Clear how deep that group is and that the young linebackers are steadily earning more trust from the coaches. Arion Carter earned an 81.1 grade in 12 plays, Jeremiah Telander earned a 75.3 grade in 12 plays and Kalib Perry earned 62.9 grade in 12 plays.
I didn’t notice Doneiko Slaughter playing live but he did total six defensive play.
