Tennessee opened its 2022 football season on a positive note Thursday night, rolling to a 59-10 win over Ball State at Neyland Stadium.
The Volunteers jumped out to a 17-0 lead after the opening quarter, took a 38-point advantage into the locker room at halftime and rolled from there. Josh Heupel’s club outgained Ball State 570-343, averaged 6.7 yards per play and was led by quarterback Hendon Hooker’s four touchdowns – which were all scored in the first half.
While Hooker threw for 222 yards and two scores, he recorded two more on the ground. He connected with a number of receivers, with Cedric Tillman leading the way with six receptions for 69 yards. Jaylen Wright led the Vols’ rushing attack with 86 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts.
With Tennessee’s first game of the year in the books, VolReport has some key takeaways from the Vols’ dominant victory over Ball State.
HENDON HOOKER IS GOING TO SHINE ALL SEASON LONG
Tennessee may have been playing a non-Power Five opponent, but Hendon Hooker made it clear that he’s one of the most versatile quarterbacks in college football. While he was on a handful of preseason watch lists coming into the season, the expectations are at an all-time high – and the way Hooker carried himself on the field Thursday proves that he’s going to put together a strong year.
From throwing just one pass in the Vols’ season opener against Bowling Green a season ago to tallying four total touchdowns this time around, Hooker has come a long way. He has opened his senior campaign in the best way possible and is set to excel each week.
Hooker will obviously be playing against much better defenses in the SEC, but he’s already shown that he can compete against the best. Just look back at his stats against Alabama last season, when he threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. This year should be full of many positives for Tennessee’s leader.
VOLS HAVE A TALENTED RECEIVING CORE
While Hooker is able to make plenty of big plays on his own, it helps that he has a number of stellar wide receivers to throw to. That was on full display against Ball State, as the Vols’ quarterback connected with eight different wideouts. Cedric Tillman led the way with six receptions for 69 yards, while Jimmy Holiday tallied four catches for 62 yards and Ramel Keyton added 57 yards by reeling in four passes from Hooker.
Speaking of the position group’s depth, USC transfer Bru McCoy provided a glimpse of what he can be for the Vols – making three catches for 42 yards. There’s no denying that McCoy is loaded with talent and full of potential, so we’ll see how he progresses throughout the year.
352 of Tennessee’s 570 yards came from the passing game (backup Joe Milton stepped in for Hooker in the second half and earned 113 of them), which just goes to show that the Volunteers should be able to move the ball through the air all season long.
JABARI SMALL, JAYLEN WRIGHT ARE A STRONG 1-2 PUNCH
Tennessee has not one, but two speedy running backs that can consistently pick up yardage on the ground: Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright. Many teams have one dominant back leading the way, but the Vols are fortunate to have two who are both capable of putting together strong performances. With that said, it really doesn’t matter which one starts. Both of them can get the job done.
In the Volunteers’ season opener, the duo combined for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries – with Wright totaling 86 yards and Small finishing with 63. Both of them helped set the tone for the offense as a whole.
When an opponent is about to take on Tennessee, they better prepare for both of these backs.
DEFENSE WAS SOLID, BUT CAN BE BETTER
Tennessee only allowed Ball State to score seven points, but the Volunteers did give up 343 yards and let the Cardinals convert on a few unnecessary third-down attempts. It was the first game of the season and there’s time to clean things up, but the Vols can’t expect to slack off on third downs against their tougher competition and come out on top.
By allowing teams to regularly capitalize on third-down attempts, all that does is lead to longer drives and hurts you in the time-of-possession category. That should be a point of emphasis for Tennessee during practice next week.
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