As a reminder, this is 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
Hendon Hooker — 91.5 (76 snaps)
Tiyon Evans — 83.5 (30)
Cade Mays — 80.3 (40)
Joe Milton — 77.2 (6)
Velus Jones Jr. — 76.6 (53)
Jabari Small — 76.5 (11)
Jaylen Wright — 76.1 (5)
Marcus Pierce 72.1 (18)
Len’Neth Whitehead — 70.8 (18)
Cedric Tillman — 69.5 (75)
Princeton Fant — 68.4 (42)
Jackson Lampley — 65.5 (6)
Ramel Keyton — 64.1 (15)
Grant Ferking 60.7 (6)
Hunter Salmon — 60.5 (6)
JaVonta Payton — 60.3 (68)
Parker Ball — 60.1 (6)
Jalin Hyatt — 58.7 (20)
Jerome Carvin — 58.6 (76)
Jeremiah Crawford — 58.2 (22)
Ollie Lane — 56.5 (82)
Dayne Davis — 48.0 (26)
Javontez Spraggins — 47.8 (76)
Darnell Wright — 46.6 (76)
Jacob Warren — 44.8 (43)
It’s not unusual for Pro Football Focus to post some grades that make you scratch your head but I don’t recall another week in the three years that we’ve been doing this where there was such a disconnect between what you saw on the field and the posted grades.
I mean how do you watch film of a team running for 458 yards, average over seven yards per attempt and grade all but one starter in the 50s and 40s? It boggles the mind.
Cade Mays got the only passing grade among guys who played a significant amount of snaps with an 80.3. He was the only lineman to receive a passing grade as a run blocker at 76.7. He also graded out as the top pass blocker among linemen at 76.7.
On a day when the Vols gave up just one sack they had a couple of other players show up with passing grades on the line; Darnell Wright got a 75.1 and Jeremiah Crawford received a 76.1 in pass blocking.
Wright received a 43.2 as a run blocker, Spraggins got a 46.8, Dayne Davis received a 46.8, Jerome Carvin a 57.4 and Ollie Lane a 58.8.
Tennessee largely ran it wherever they wanted and found success. The only place they had some struggles was on the left side behind the guard and center where 12 runs netted just 31 yards. (So maybe that says something about Wright's grade but doesn’t explain the others)
Unlike in some other games Tennessee was able to get wide against Missouri. Thirteen rushes around right end produced 96 yards and 14 around left end produced 77. The Vols were really productive in the guard center gaps on both side with 14 runs going for 123 yards.
Unlike in other weeks quarterback scrambles accounted for just 19 yards.
Again, how do you watch a team go for 458 yards and grade linemen out like that? Let’s just move on.
Something I think we can agree on is what they saw from Hendon Hooker who received an ‘elite’ grade of 91.5. Hooker had his best day throwing the football in terms of both accuracy and depth.
He completed 3-of-4 throws on balls that traveled more than 20 yards in the air for 88 yards and two touchdowns. He was 2-of-4 for 28 yards on throws between 10-20 yards.
The Vols didn’t push the ball down the field a ton but when they did they had some success. Hooker missed on only one throw that was under 10 yards going 10-for-11 on those short tosses.
DEFENSE
Christian Charles — 83.0 (3 snaps)
Kenneth George Jr. — 75.9 (30)
Roman Harrison — 72.9 (38)
Jeremy Banks — 68.6 (47)
Theo Jackson — 68.2 (43)
Solon Page — 67.0 (33)
Tyler Baron — 66.3 (29)
Aaron Beasley — 66.2 (55)
Isaac Green — 66.1 (8)
Romello Edwards — 66.1 (13)
Kwauze Garland — 65.4 (8)
Da’Jon Terry — 65.4 (21)
Byron Young — 64.3 (27)
Doneiko Slaughter — 64.1 (58)
Warren Burrell — 62.0 (57
Matthew Butler — 61.6 (57)
Brandon Turnage — 59.1 (3)
Elijah Simmons — 57.7 (9)
Caleb Tremblay — 57.5 (30)
Aubrey Solomon — 57.4 (8)
Omari Thomas — 55.5 (19)
Alontae Taylor — 54.0 (55)
Kurott Garland — 53.2 (6)
Ja’Quain Blakely — 52.6 (45)
Nick Humphrey — 50.3 (8)
Jaylen McCollough — 44.3 (75)
De’Shawn Rucker — 42.2 (8)
Tamarion McDonald — 33.8 (32)
Again, some difficult grades to understand on a day when the Vols basically made them one dimensional and the defense essentially held them to 10 points.
It’s hard to square watching the Vols hold the Tigers to 74 yards on 30 carries and bottle up Tyler Bad to the tune of 41 yards rushing on 21 carries yet have only one guy in the front seven (Roman Harrison) grade out as an above average starter.
Tough crowd.
On first watch I thought it was probably Harrison’s best game, at least in terms of being disruptive and getting some penetration, his grade reflected that.
Tennessee didn’t have nearly as many guys grade out 70+ as I would have thought but more than half the guys who played were above 60.
We mentioned the run defense against the Tigers, the guys who graded out the best as rush defenders were Doneiko Slaughter (82.1), Harrison (75.7), Aaron Beasley (75.2), Solon Page (72.2) and Jeremy Banks (70.6).
Tennessee had 11 players graded out at 70+ as tacklers. Theo Jackson topped the list at 82.0 followed by Page (78.9), Warren Burrell ( 78.8), Harrison (76.1), Kenneth George Jr. (76.0), Matthew Butler (73.8), Byron Young (73.7), De’Shawn Rucker (73.5), Kwauze Garland (72.1)and Omari Thomas (71.5).
Butler continues to play a ton of snaps for an interior defensive lineman, he logged 57 snaps on Saturday.
Tennessee did a great job of setting the edge against Mizzou. The Tigers ran around left end 11 times and picked up just nine yards. Four attempts around the right end produced -2 yards.
Jeremy Banks was the only player to receive a 70+ as a pass rusher coming in at 80.7.
Theo Jackson (73.0) and Kenneth George Jr. (74.1) received the highest coverage grades.
Alontae Taylor got dinged pretty good by PFF with a coverage grade of 55.1. He was targeted six times and gave up three receptions for 41 yards with a long of 32.
Tamarion McDonald received a 34.5 coverage grade. He was targeted six times, gave up three receptions for 34 yards and each of the receptions was good for a first down.
Doneiko Slaughter received a 54.8 coverage grade He gave up three receptions for 42 yards while being targeted four times.
George Jr. (74.3) gave up one reception for 10 yards while being targeted three times.
Jaylen McCollough received a 40.7 grade. He was targeted three times surrendering two catches for 73 yards.
Tennessee limited Connor Bazelak to 1-for-4 passing on throws that traveled more than 20 yards in the air for 32 yards.
The Vols graded out better over the middle on intermediate routes, holding Bazelak to a 4-of-10 effort for 56 yards while picking off two passes in that area of the field.
< 50 = Backup
50-59 = Below average starter6
0-69 = Average starter
70-79 = Above average starter
80-89 = Very good
90-99 = Elite
OFFENSE
Hendon Hooker — 91.5 (76 snaps)
Tiyon Evans — 83.5 (30)
Cade Mays — 80.3 (40)
Joe Milton — 77.2 (6)
Velus Jones Jr. — 76.6 (53)
Jabari Small — 76.5 (11)
Jaylen Wright — 76.1 (5)
Marcus Pierce 72.1 (18)
Len’Neth Whitehead — 70.8 (18)
Cedric Tillman — 69.5 (75)
Princeton Fant — 68.4 (42)
Jackson Lampley — 65.5 (6)
Ramel Keyton — 64.1 (15)
Grant Ferking 60.7 (6)
Hunter Salmon — 60.5 (6)
JaVonta Payton — 60.3 (68)
Parker Ball — 60.1 (6)
Jalin Hyatt — 58.7 (20)
Jerome Carvin — 58.6 (76)
Jeremiah Crawford — 58.2 (22)
Ollie Lane — 56.5 (82)
Dayne Davis — 48.0 (26)
Javontez Spraggins — 47.8 (76)
Darnell Wright — 46.6 (76)
Jacob Warren — 44.8 (43)
It’s not unusual for Pro Football Focus to post some grades that make you scratch your head but I don’t recall another week in the three years that we’ve been doing this where there was such a disconnect between what you saw on the field and the posted grades.
I mean how do you watch film of a team running for 458 yards, average over seven yards per attempt and grade all but one starter in the 50s and 40s? It boggles the mind.
Cade Mays got the only passing grade among guys who played a significant amount of snaps with an 80.3. He was the only lineman to receive a passing grade as a run blocker at 76.7. He also graded out as the top pass blocker among linemen at 76.7.
On a day when the Vols gave up just one sack they had a couple of other players show up with passing grades on the line; Darnell Wright got a 75.1 and Jeremiah Crawford received a 76.1 in pass blocking.
Wright received a 43.2 as a run blocker, Spraggins got a 46.8, Dayne Davis received a 46.8, Jerome Carvin a 57.4 and Ollie Lane a 58.8.
Tennessee largely ran it wherever they wanted and found success. The only place they had some struggles was on the left side behind the guard and center where 12 runs netted just 31 yards. (So maybe that says something about Wright's grade but doesn’t explain the others)
Unlike in some other games Tennessee was able to get wide against Missouri. Thirteen rushes around right end produced 96 yards and 14 around left end produced 77. The Vols were really productive in the guard center gaps on both side with 14 runs going for 123 yards.
Unlike in other weeks quarterback scrambles accounted for just 19 yards.
Again, how do you watch a team go for 458 yards and grade linemen out like that? Let’s just move on.
Something I think we can agree on is what they saw from Hendon Hooker who received an ‘elite’ grade of 91.5. Hooker had his best day throwing the football in terms of both accuracy and depth.
He completed 3-of-4 throws on balls that traveled more than 20 yards in the air for 88 yards and two touchdowns. He was 2-of-4 for 28 yards on throws between 10-20 yards.
The Vols didn’t push the ball down the field a ton but when they did they had some success. Hooker missed on only one throw that was under 10 yards going 10-for-11 on those short tosses.
DEFENSE
Christian Charles — 83.0 (3 snaps)
Kenneth George Jr. — 75.9 (30)
Roman Harrison — 72.9 (38)
Jeremy Banks — 68.6 (47)
Theo Jackson — 68.2 (43)
Solon Page — 67.0 (33)
Tyler Baron — 66.3 (29)
Aaron Beasley — 66.2 (55)
Isaac Green — 66.1 (8)
Romello Edwards — 66.1 (13)
Kwauze Garland — 65.4 (8)
Da’Jon Terry — 65.4 (21)
Byron Young — 64.3 (27)
Doneiko Slaughter — 64.1 (58)
Warren Burrell — 62.0 (57
Matthew Butler — 61.6 (57)
Brandon Turnage — 59.1 (3)
Elijah Simmons — 57.7 (9)
Caleb Tremblay — 57.5 (30)
Aubrey Solomon — 57.4 (8)
Omari Thomas — 55.5 (19)
Alontae Taylor — 54.0 (55)
Kurott Garland — 53.2 (6)
Ja’Quain Blakely — 52.6 (45)
Nick Humphrey — 50.3 (8)
Jaylen McCollough — 44.3 (75)
De’Shawn Rucker — 42.2 (8)
Tamarion McDonald — 33.8 (32)
Again, some difficult grades to understand on a day when the Vols basically made them one dimensional and the defense essentially held them to 10 points.
It’s hard to square watching the Vols hold the Tigers to 74 yards on 30 carries and bottle up Tyler Bad to the tune of 41 yards rushing on 21 carries yet have only one guy in the front seven (Roman Harrison) grade out as an above average starter.
Tough crowd.
On first watch I thought it was probably Harrison’s best game, at least in terms of being disruptive and getting some penetration, his grade reflected that.
Tennessee didn’t have nearly as many guys grade out 70+ as I would have thought but more than half the guys who played were above 60.
We mentioned the run defense against the Tigers, the guys who graded out the best as rush defenders were Doneiko Slaughter (82.1), Harrison (75.7), Aaron Beasley (75.2), Solon Page (72.2) and Jeremy Banks (70.6).
Tennessee had 11 players graded out at 70+ as tacklers. Theo Jackson topped the list at 82.0 followed by Page (78.9), Warren Burrell ( 78.8), Harrison (76.1), Kenneth George Jr. (76.0), Matthew Butler (73.8), Byron Young (73.7), De’Shawn Rucker (73.5), Kwauze Garland (72.1)and Omari Thomas (71.5).
Butler continues to play a ton of snaps for an interior defensive lineman, he logged 57 snaps on Saturday.
Tennessee did a great job of setting the edge against Mizzou. The Tigers ran around left end 11 times and picked up just nine yards. Four attempts around the right end produced -2 yards.
Jeremy Banks was the only player to receive a 70+ as a pass rusher coming in at 80.7.
Theo Jackson (73.0) and Kenneth George Jr. (74.1) received the highest coverage grades.
Alontae Taylor got dinged pretty good by PFF with a coverage grade of 55.1. He was targeted six times and gave up three receptions for 41 yards with a long of 32.
Tamarion McDonald received a 34.5 coverage grade. He was targeted six times, gave up three receptions for 34 yards and each of the receptions was good for a first down.
Doneiko Slaughter received a 54.8 coverage grade He gave up three receptions for 42 yards while being targeted four times.
George Jr. (74.3) gave up one reception for 10 yards while being targeted three times.
Jaylen McCollough received a 40.7 grade. He was targeted three times surrendering two catches for 73 yards.
Tennessee limited Connor Bazelak to 1-for-4 passing on throws that traveled more than 20 yards in the air for 32 yards.
The Vols graded out better over the middle on intermediate routes, holding Bazelak to a 4-of-10 effort for 56 yards while picking off two passes in that area of the field.
