| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|---|---|
📈 | DeAndre Johnson — This is not my victory lap. This is giving Johnson his due. Tennessee had real concerns about their ability to rush the quarterback and while Saturday night didn’t completely eliminate those concerns because South Carolina’s offensive front is not very good, the Vols got three sacks from the defensive end/outside linebacker position and didn’t have to blitz to create a pass rush thanks in part to Johnson’s play. Also give a stock up to freshman Tyler Baron who looked like he belonged on the field as a freshman and punter Paxton Brooks who responded well following the first punt snap disaster. |
📉 | Middle of the field defense — It’s not all on Doneiko Slaughter at the star position. Yes, Slaughter got picked on, but there were coverage issues at linebacker and safety as well in the middle of the field. Tennessee should be better in week two with Slaughter, Jeremy Banks, and Quavaris Crouch all having the experience from week one and they should be better with the return of Jaylen McCullough who’s the quarterback in the back end at safety. |
↔️ | The freshman class on offense —The young receivers didn’t get an opportunity to show themselves. Jalin Hyatt was open on the one target for him but Guarantano through a bad ball. The rest of the new receivers didn’t get a chance. We didn’t see a freshman running back and on the offensive line Javontez Spraggins was just ok and Cooper Mays looked big in the jumbo formation but jumped off sides. |
📈 | The veteran receivers — For all the talk about what out the Vols lost from a year ago in Marquez Callaway and how the freshmen were going to be a big part of things in week one, it was the veterans like Brandon Johnson who had 3 catches for 73 yards, two which set up scores and Josh Palmer’s career high 6 receptions that led the way. |
📉 | Third down offense — It was terrible. Jim Chaney’s unit was 1 for 11 on third down and failed to convert their last 9 attempts. The offense failed to convert third and short, third and medium and third in long and it was all about execution. There were inaccurate throws by Guarantano. A drop by Keyton, missed blocks in the run game. A slip by Eric Gray on 3rd and 2. It was an ugly night on their downs which must improve this week. |
↔️ | Jarrett Guarantano — Guarantano wasn’t bad and he wasn’t great. He was solid mentally in going the right places with the ball most every time. He didn’t put the ball in harms way. But he held it too long a couple of times leading to sacks and he was inaccurate missing some wide open receivers and some of the throws caught were passes behind the receivers. It was a mixed bag for Guarantano that he can and needs to improve on in week two. |
