Tennessee football got back in the win column on Saturday night, winning a thriller over Florida 23-17 in overtime.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Chattanooga 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 14 plays — 20% of offensive plays)
RB Dylan Sampson — 78.7 (52 plays)
C Cooper Mays — 75.8 (72 plays)
WR Squirrel White — 74.2 (33 plays)
TE Ethan Davis — 64.5 (14 plays)
WR Chris Brazzell — 64.1 (58 plays)
RB DeSean Bishop — 63.3 (20 plays)
TE Holde Staes — 56.0 (27 plays)
RT John Campbell Jr — 55.6 (62 plays)
QB Nico Iamaleava — 55.1 (72 plays)
LG Andrej Karic — 54.8 (72 plays)
TE Miles Kitselman — 54.6 (45 plays)
RG Javontez Spraggins — 51.4 (62 plays)
WR Bru McCoy — 51.3 (57 plays)
WR Chas Nimrod — 48.6 (31 plays)
LT Lance Heard — 38.3 (72 plays)
The offensive grades were just as bad as Tennessee’s offense looked in this one. That was particularly the case for the offensive line. Besides Cooper Mays, the Vols’ offensive line grades were truly horrible in this one. As bad as Lance Heard and Javontez Spraggins graded out, they actually turned in solid pass block grades and horrible run block grades.
No surprise to see Dylan Sampson earn the highest grade. He’s the best player on Tennessee’s offense and he turned in another good performance. A second straight good pass block grade for Sampson too.
Lastly, let’s look at some snap counts. Dont’e Thornton played just four snaps and Mike Matthews just missed the cut playing 13 plays. The tight end snap breakdown is also interesting with Miles Kitselman leading the way by a long shot followed by Holden Staes and then Ethan Davis.
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Defensive Grades (minimum of 14 plays — 20% of defensive plays)
LEO James Pearce Jr — 79.7 (32 plays)
CB Jermod McCoy — 78.4 (72 plays)
S Will Brooks — 77.8 (49 plays)
CB Rickey Gibson III — 74.1 (71 plays)
S Christian Charles — 72.6 (26 plays)
LEO Josh Josephs — 69.8 (37 plays)
DT Bryson Eason — 69.4 (38 plays)
LB Kalib Perry — 67.6 (35 plays)
STAR Boo Carter — 66.5 (32 plays)
DE Tyre West — 62.5 (22 plays)
S Jakobe Thomas — 59.6 (26 plays)
DE Jayson Jenkins — 59.3 (18 plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 59.3 (32 plays)
LB Jeremiah Telander — 58.9 (67 plays)
DT Omari Thomas — 55.2 (35 plays)
LB Jalen Smith — 53.1 (19 plays)
DT Jaxson Moi — 52.8 (22 plays)
LB Arion Carter — 48.4 (53 plays)
DT Omarr Norman-Lott — 43.9 (17 plays)
S Andre Turrentine — 35.7 (43 plays)
I said on the RTI Reaction Show last night that I felt like Tennessee’s secondary turned in a really strong performance. The numbers backed it up with four of the five highest graded players being defensive backs.
Tennessee really missed Keenan Pili in this game at linebacker. The Vols linebackers performed poorly, particularly Jeremiah Telander and Arion Carter, who are the top two linebackers without Pili.
Some quick hitters to wrap it up: Omarr Norman-Lott might have earned the worst grade I’ve ever seen from someone that totaled 1.5 sacks. Boo Carter played his best game of his career to date. Elijah Simmons (71.3 in 12 plays), Daevin Hobbs (63.2 in 11 plays) and Caleb Herring (63.3 in 12 plays) all just missed the cut. Simmons had a really nice grade while the other two turned in decent ones.
