Secondary
Daniel: Outside of a 32-yard completion to tight end Faysal Shafaat in the second half, there really was nothing available through the air for the Mocs, which finished with just 96 yards passing. The Mocs got rid of the ball quickly and completed some passes, but the DBs did a nice job coming up and making tackles to limit any running room after the catch. Justin Coleman had a nice interception and return, though, if nitpicking, he probably should’ve made a cutback and been able to score on it. It was a pretty quiet day overall for this group, which is a good sign for the defense. Grade: A-
Houston: This game was essentially a day of for the Vol secondary as UTC just doesn’t have the type of talent to consistently challenge Tennessee in the passing game. This group is playing with a lot of confidence right now and they continued their smothering style of play against a weaker opponent when a letdown was certainly a possibility. This was a game that also saw a lot of younger players earn some valuable reps during most of the second half, which will help build depth over the second half of the season. Normally that would mean that a lot of garbage yards would cloud the stat-sheet, but even the younger guys were able to play well in this one. Grade: A
Reed: The Vols actually gave up more passing yards to Chattanooga than to Florida last week but still held the Mocs under 100 total yards through the air. Chattanooga hit a couple of decent plays when coverage could have been better, but it’s tough to fault this unit too much. They were all over UTC’s receivers for much of the day and were effective in run support. Justin Coleman tallied his first interception of the year and came close to returning it for a score. There’s just not much to deduct here. This unit is good and plays like it every week. Grade A
