| 📈 | Velus Jones — Since moving to the slot, Jones has been hot with 13 catches for 182 yards and 2 TD’s. He’s clearly the best receiver with the ball in his hands. According to PFF, Jones has 252 yards after contact this season. No one else on the team has 100. |
|---|---|
📉 | Defending a mobile qb — Everyone saw what Emory Jones did to this defense. Pickett from Pitt had two key 3rd down scrambles for first downs in week two and even last week Luke Doty scrambled 19 yards for a first down. This week, Tennessee is by far playing the best combination of thrower and runner at quarterback in Matt Corral. Can this defense be improved this week against a mobile signal caller. |
↔️ | Turnovers — Tennessee has been great at protecting the ball in SEC play after a rough start and this defense is forcing more turnovers. But some of that has been good fortune like a fumbled snap or a defensive end trying to throw a pass. Tennessee needs to continue to take care of the ball but the defense needs to force more mistakes. |
📈 | Veteran newcomers on offense — The transfer portal has been good to Josh Heupel’s offensive productions. JaVonta Payton only has 9 receptions this year but he’s averaging 24 yards a catch and 4 of those 9 have been touchdowns the last four week. Hendon Hooker’s numbers are on par with Matt Corral who is a Heisman candidate and if you show JUCO transfer Tiyon Evans in that non-freshman newcomer category you have three of the biggest reasons why this fanbase is excited. |
📉 | Special teams — Tennessee has given up longer kickoff returns the last couple of weeks including a 100 yard return against Missouri. The Vols must tackle better on kickoffs. They also need Paxton Brooks back or Toby Wilson to hit it a little better off the tee. Last week on they had to call a time out because they didn’t have 11 on the field and they blew assignments on the fake punt in what was an obvious area for that possibility. |
↔️ | Can they handle the moment? — Let’s face it a sellout crowd and excitement is new to pretty much everyone on this team. Saturday night’s atmosphere should be really good. Can this team thrive in that moment? Can they remain poised and play clean football? We don’t know because this is virgin ground for most. |
