Reminder on the PFF grading scale
< 50 = Backup
50-59 = Below average starter6
0-69 = Average starter
70-79 = Above average starter
80-89 = Very good
90-99 = Elite
OFFENSE
Cedric Tillman — 79.1 (80 snaps)
JaVonta Payton — 66.3 (12)
Joe Milton III — 65.7 (18)
Jabari Small — 66.5 (64)
Jalin Hyatt — 65.3 (25)
Velus Jones Jr. — 62.2 (64)
Javontez Spraggins — 61.8 (89)
Jaylen Wright — 60.1 (24)
Cade Mays — 59.3 (71)
Ramel Keyton — 57.1 (77)
Jerome Carvin — 55.6 (63)
Jimmy Holiday — 55.5 (7)
Cooper Mays — 55.4 (89)
Princeton Fant — 55.3 (57)
Hendon Hooker — 55.3 (71)
Walker Merrill — 55.2 (7)
Ollie Lane — 54.3 (26)
Darnell Wright — 51.4 (89)
Jacob Warren — 49.5 (28)
Dayne Davis — 47.7 (18)
It’s certainly not a surprise to see Cedric Tillman with the highest offensive grade after he pulled down 10 receptions in 11 targets for 200 yards and a touchdown against the top-ranked passing defense in the SEC.
Tillman got 85 of his 200 yards after the catch, and was credited with one successful contested catch in the only opportunity he had in that situation.
Velus Jones has eight catches on 11 targets. Jalin Hyatt had five catches on seven targets.
Beyond Tillman the Vols didn’t have an offensive player grade out at 70+.
It was a rough day for Hendon Hooker, a speed bump in what’s been largely a marvelous season. His 55.3 mark was his lowest of the season since taking over as the starter. Hooker graded out at 47.2 as a passer.
Hooker completed just two passes that traveled more than 10 yards in the air past the line of scrimmage. He was 1-for-7 on throws that were longer than 20 yards. He was 1-for-2 on throws between 10-20 yards.
Tennessee had no success whatsoever pushing the ball down the field. Hooker had 24 completions in the game, only two of those were on balls thrown 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage.
Part of the reason for Hooker’s struggles was the kind of pass rush he faced all day. Georgia sacked him six times and affected him on multiple other occasions.
Hooker dropped back to pass 30 times against Georgia and according to PFF he faced pressure on 14 of those drop backs and when pressured completed just 3-of-7 passes.
Speaking of pass protection, the Vols had two offensive linemen who graded out at 70+; Javontez Spraggins (70.8) and Cooper Mays (70.1). Cade Mays (64.6) got a decent grade. Darnell Wright (36.8) and Jerome Carvin (32.4) were graded harshly in pass protection. Tennessee’s backs also received awful grades; Jaylen Wright (39.5) and Jabari Small (30.0) were also graded out poorly. Those numbers seemed pretty much in line with what we saw on the field.
Tennessee did not have an offensive lineman that received a grade of 60+ in the game. Carvin (58.7), Spraggins (58.1), Wright (57.1), Cade Mays (55.0) and Cooper Mays (55.0) all received low grades from PFF.
DEFENSE
Kurott Garland — 79.7 (6 snaps)
Da’Jon Terry — 66.2 (23)
Warren Burrell — 64.5 (49)
Elijah Simmons — 63.2 (9)
Kwauze Garland — 61.9 (2)
Matthew Butler — 61.3 (54)
Omari Thomas — 60.4 (34)
Jaylen McCollough — 60.4 (73)
Alontae Taylor — 60.0 (71)
Byron Young — 59.8 (45)
Trevon Flowers — 59.2 (73)
Theo Jackson — 58.6 (68)
Roman Harrison — 55.1 (26)
Tyler Baron — 50.0 (20)
Caleb Tremblay — 48.8 (44)
Aaron Beasley — 48.2 (57)
Doneiko Slaughter — 47.4 (10)
Jeremy Banks — 46.2 (62)
Ja’Quain Blakely — 43.8 (29)
Kamal Hadden — 41.2 (26)
Solon Page III — 28.7 (22)
Tennessee didn’t have a defender other than Garland, who played just six snaps, grade out higher than 66.7, which Da’Jon Terry got.
What we saw on the field in terms of tackling definitely showed up in the PFF numbers this week.
Linebackers Aaron Beasley (48.2), Jeremy Banks (46.2) and Solon Page (28.7) were all graded harshly.
That trio also got three of the poorest tackling grades; Banks was at 52.7, Beasley was at 24.3. Page did not receive a tackling grade which I presume means that he wasn’t in a position to make a tackle resulting in no grade.
Warren Burrell (64.0), Jaylen McCollough (63.1), Trevon Flowers (63.0) and Doneiko Slaughter (62.4) were the only defensive backs to grade out at 60+ in pass coverage.
Stetson Bennett attempted just two passes that traveled more than 20 yards in the air, completing one for a 23 yard touchdown.
Georgia didn’t try to push the ball at all down the field really but they feasted in the middle on intermediate routes. Benett was 5-of-6 for 75 yards on throws in between 10-20 yards between the hash marks.
Coverage wise Alontae Taylor was targeted four times and gave up three receptions for 54 yards. All three catches resulted in first downs for Georgia.
Theo Jackson was targeted three times and gave up just on catch, a 19 yard gain. Kamal Hadden was targeted twice and gave up two catches for 24 yards. Burrell was targeted twice and gave up two receptions for 22 yards.
Roman Harrison (78.7), Alontae Taylor (74.0) and Omario Thomas (71.2) were the defensive players who received the highest grades for rush defense.
< 50 = Backup
50-59 = Below average starter6
0-69 = Average starter
70-79 = Above average starter
80-89 = Very good
90-99 = Elite
OFFENSE
Cedric Tillman — 79.1 (80 snaps)
JaVonta Payton — 66.3 (12)
Joe Milton III — 65.7 (18)
Jabari Small — 66.5 (64)
Jalin Hyatt — 65.3 (25)
Velus Jones Jr. — 62.2 (64)
Javontez Spraggins — 61.8 (89)
Jaylen Wright — 60.1 (24)
Cade Mays — 59.3 (71)
Ramel Keyton — 57.1 (77)
Jerome Carvin — 55.6 (63)
Jimmy Holiday — 55.5 (7)
Cooper Mays — 55.4 (89)
Princeton Fant — 55.3 (57)
Hendon Hooker — 55.3 (71)
Walker Merrill — 55.2 (7)
Ollie Lane — 54.3 (26)
Darnell Wright — 51.4 (89)
Jacob Warren — 49.5 (28)
Dayne Davis — 47.7 (18)
It’s certainly not a surprise to see Cedric Tillman with the highest offensive grade after he pulled down 10 receptions in 11 targets for 200 yards and a touchdown against the top-ranked passing defense in the SEC.
Tillman got 85 of his 200 yards after the catch, and was credited with one successful contested catch in the only opportunity he had in that situation.
Velus Jones has eight catches on 11 targets. Jalin Hyatt had five catches on seven targets.
Beyond Tillman the Vols didn’t have an offensive player grade out at 70+.
It was a rough day for Hendon Hooker, a speed bump in what’s been largely a marvelous season. His 55.3 mark was his lowest of the season since taking over as the starter. Hooker graded out at 47.2 as a passer.
Hooker completed just two passes that traveled more than 10 yards in the air past the line of scrimmage. He was 1-for-7 on throws that were longer than 20 yards. He was 1-for-2 on throws between 10-20 yards.
Tennessee had no success whatsoever pushing the ball down the field. Hooker had 24 completions in the game, only two of those were on balls thrown 10 or more yards past the line of scrimmage.
Part of the reason for Hooker’s struggles was the kind of pass rush he faced all day. Georgia sacked him six times and affected him on multiple other occasions.
Hooker dropped back to pass 30 times against Georgia and according to PFF he faced pressure on 14 of those drop backs and when pressured completed just 3-of-7 passes.
Speaking of pass protection, the Vols had two offensive linemen who graded out at 70+; Javontez Spraggins (70.8) and Cooper Mays (70.1). Cade Mays (64.6) got a decent grade. Darnell Wright (36.8) and Jerome Carvin (32.4) were graded harshly in pass protection. Tennessee’s backs also received awful grades; Jaylen Wright (39.5) and Jabari Small (30.0) were also graded out poorly. Those numbers seemed pretty much in line with what we saw on the field.
Tennessee did not have an offensive lineman that received a grade of 60+ in the game. Carvin (58.7), Spraggins (58.1), Wright (57.1), Cade Mays (55.0) and Cooper Mays (55.0) all received low grades from PFF.
DEFENSE
Kurott Garland — 79.7 (6 snaps)
Da’Jon Terry — 66.2 (23)
Warren Burrell — 64.5 (49)
Elijah Simmons — 63.2 (9)
Kwauze Garland — 61.9 (2)
Matthew Butler — 61.3 (54)
Omari Thomas — 60.4 (34)
Jaylen McCollough — 60.4 (73)
Alontae Taylor — 60.0 (71)
Byron Young — 59.8 (45)
Trevon Flowers — 59.2 (73)
Theo Jackson — 58.6 (68)
Roman Harrison — 55.1 (26)
Tyler Baron — 50.0 (20)
Caleb Tremblay — 48.8 (44)
Aaron Beasley — 48.2 (57)
Doneiko Slaughter — 47.4 (10)
Jeremy Banks — 46.2 (62)
Ja’Quain Blakely — 43.8 (29)
Kamal Hadden — 41.2 (26)
Solon Page III — 28.7 (22)
Tennessee didn’t have a defender other than Garland, who played just six snaps, grade out higher than 66.7, which Da’Jon Terry got.
What we saw on the field in terms of tackling definitely showed up in the PFF numbers this week.
Linebackers Aaron Beasley (48.2), Jeremy Banks (46.2) and Solon Page (28.7) were all graded harshly.
That trio also got three of the poorest tackling grades; Banks was at 52.7, Beasley was at 24.3. Page did not receive a tackling grade which I presume means that he wasn’t in a position to make a tackle resulting in no grade.
Warren Burrell (64.0), Jaylen McCollough (63.1), Trevon Flowers (63.0) and Doneiko Slaughter (62.4) were the only defensive backs to grade out at 60+ in pass coverage.
Stetson Bennett attempted just two passes that traveled more than 20 yards in the air, completing one for a 23 yard touchdown.
Georgia didn’t try to push the ball at all down the field really but they feasted in the middle on intermediate routes. Benett was 5-of-6 for 75 yards on throws in between 10-20 yards between the hash marks.
Coverage wise Alontae Taylor was targeted four times and gave up three receptions for 54 yards. All three catches resulted in first downs for Georgia.
Theo Jackson was targeted three times and gave up just on catch, a 19 yard gain. Kamal Hadden was targeted twice and gave up two catches for 24 yards. Burrell was targeted twice and gave up two receptions for 22 yards.
Roman Harrison (78.7), Alontae Taylor (74.0) and Omario Thomas (71.2) were the defensive players who received the highest grades for rush defense.
