If there was a moment Saturday that displayed the talent discrepancy between Tennessee and Akron it was when Jalin Hyatt broke away from the Zips’ secondary, hauled in a deep Hendon Hooker pass, then outraced them for a late second quarter touchdown.

The No. 15 Vols flashed all kinds of speed against Akron, a team they were favored to beat by more than 47 points. Hooker threw two touchdowns and his backup, Joe Milton tossed two more in the second half as Tennessee finished its final tune-up before SEC play in emphatic fashion, 63-6 in front of an impressive home crowd of 101,915 at Neyland Stadium Saturday.

In just over two quarters of action, Hooker shook off a 1-of-5 passing start to finish 14-of-18 for 298 yards and two touchdowns. Tennessee accounted for 676 total yards, including 238 on the ground.

After the Vols (3-0) opening drive ended in a missed 47-yard field goal from Chase McGrath, Tennessee responded by going 74 yards in seven plays and paying it off with a two-yard run from Jaylen Wright to go up 7-0 with less than nine minutes left in the first quarter.

That opened the way for the Vols to score on their next five possessions.

Sticking with the run game in the red zone, Hooker got off a last second pitch to freshman running back Dylan Sampson who scored the first of two touchdowns, this one going for nine yards to give Tennessee a 14-0 lead.

Finding success in the run game, Hooker started hitting shots deep on the Vols’ third drive. On the second play of the second quarter, he hit Hyatt for a 57-yard score, making it 15-straight games with a touchdown pass and putting him just three games away from a program record set by former quarterback Heath Shuler (18 consecutive games with a touchdown pass).

It also made for the beginning of a record night for Hyatt. He turned in a career high performance with five receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Hooker stayed in for one drive in the third, connecting with Hyatt again for a 47-yard gain to the Akron five, setting up Wright’s second touchdown rush before Milton took the rest of the snaps in the second half. Milton’s two scores came on a 57-yard touchdown pass to Ramel Keyton and a 38-yard strike to Walker Merrill in the third and fourth quarter, respectively.

Defensively, Tennessee started where it left off against Pitt a week ago. Vols defenders totaled four sacks and 11 tackles for loss, again flashing its ability to get pressure. They also forced a turnover, which snuffed out Akron’s best drive to that point in the game in the second quarter. Jeremy Banks led Tennessee with five tackles while Elijah Herring had two sacks.

Tennessee now turns its attention to its SEC opener next Saturday against No. 18 Florida at Neyland Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

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