Let’s dive into the Week 4 advanced stats, courtesy of Pro Football Focus.
As a reminder, this is the PFF grading scale.
< 50 = Bad
50-60 = Average
70-80 = Above Average
80-84 = Good
85 and up = Very, very good.
With that … the Tennessee-Florida advanced stats…
OFFENSIVE GRADES
1. WR Jauan Jennings (76.7)
2. WR Marquez Callaway (69.8)
3. RB Madre London (62.7)
4. WR Josh Palmer (61.7)
5. QB Jarrett Guarantano (61.6)
6. LG Jahmir Johnson (60.6)
7. RG Jerome Carvin (60.0)
8. RT Drew Richmond (58.9)
9. RB Ty Chandler (56.0)
10. LT Trey Smith (54.3)
11. TE Dominick Wood-Anderson (47.4)
12. C Ryan Johnson (46.4)
Other notables who played lots of snaps: RB Madre London (62.7), LG Riley Locklear (60.1), Keller Chryst (54.8), WR Brandon Johnson (51.2), Austin Pope (31.4)
*** I noted in my review piece that Tennessee A) let the quarterback get hit way too many times and B) the run game was pitiful, with half the rushes going for two yards or fewer. PFF’s grades certainly back up both statements, as Tennessee had a single lineman earn a grade north of 60, which is considered average, and that guy was benched for a portion of game (Locklear replaced Johnson).
*** Smith continued his tough start to his sophomore season, struggling as both a run and pass protector Saturday. As a unit, the OL allowed nine pressures and five other hurries, and Smith was the culprit for three pressures, two hurries and a quarterback hit. Richmond draws a lot of flack, but he has widely outperformed Smith as a pass protector so far in 2018. He wasn’t great Saturday with a penalty, hurry and pressure, but on the season, Richmond has a PBLK grade of 78.3 while Smith’s stands at 58.9. Smith has been UT's best run blocker through four games, though.
For the fourth straight week, Carvin continued his odd splits of being a solid pass protector and really sub-par run blocker. Meanwhile, Ryan Johnson actually graded out as the team’s top pass protector, but its worst run blocker.
*** Tim Jordan was asked to pass protect three times Saturday and he missed his assignment twice, giving the sophomore tailback a PFF grade of 13.9. That’s as low as a grade I’ve seen for a subsection for a UT player so far in 2018.
*** Guarantano was just 7 of 18 for 159 yards and two picks, but Tennessee dropped three JG passes Saturday. The second-year starter struggled mightily under pressure, though, completing just a single pass for 15 yards (Tennessee’s initial 1st down of the game). On the other six drop backs under pressure, Guarantano was sacked once, threw four incompletions and had an interception.
*** Tennessee rushed for 158 yards on Saturday — 142 after contact. They had just three rushes over 10 yards, two from London.
*** As for the wideouts, the Vols had success going after freshman corner Trey Dean (2 of 3 targets for 61 yards and two first downs) and nickel-back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (3 of 4 targets, with a drop, for 50 yards and three first downs) but they didn’t do it enough. CJ Henderson got flagged a couple times, but he held Callaway in check (0 for 3).
DEFENESIVE GRADES
1. DT Shy Tuttle (79.8)
2. OLB Darrell Taylor (75.8)
3. RS Micah Abernathy (74.3)
4. CB Alontae Taylor (72.6)
5. CB Bryce Thompson (71.1)
6. CB Baylen Buchanan (70.1)
7. LS Nigel Warrior (68.5)
8. DE Kyle Phillips (65.4)
9. MLB Daniel Bituli (61.6)
10. OLB Jonathan Kongbo (59.0)
11. DT Alexis Johnson (56.7)
12. SS Theo Jackson (40.7)
13. MLB Darrin Kirkland Jr. (38.4)
Other notable grades defensively: MLB Will Ignont (61.8), LS Trevon Flowers (40.8)
Pruitt thought several guys played their best game of the season Saturday, and PFF’s stats back that up. Tuttle, Taylor, Abernathy and Buchanan were all solid overall.
*** PFF stats also supported the rewatch opinion on Alexis Johnson. The senior tackle was impressive on passing downs (three hurries and a sack), but the former JUCO prospect graded out as the worst run defender on the defensive line.
*** Senior linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. had a tough evening vs. Florida, making minimal impact on 29 snaps. The middle linebacker was responsible on the touchdown to the full-back at the goal line. With DK struggling, Ignont saw an increase in playing time. The sophomore played one fewer snap than DK. Ignont had a pair of “stops” in the run game, and he allowed two short completions.
*** Florida picked on Jackson in coverage, completing 3 of 3 targets for 67 yards, two first downs and a score. Flowers was victimized on Freddie Swain’s long touchdown, with Buchanan taking a bad angle coming off his guy to try and make a tackle.
However, Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes were mostly non-factors, as Buchanan and Thompson allowed just a single reception to Florida’s two transfer wideouts.
*** Notable snaps: Florida ran 53 plays Saturday and Buchanan and Warrior were the only two guys to never leave the field. Abernathy played 51 snaps and Taylor, who was had the big forced fumble, played 46 snaps but was not targeted. Thompson, dealing with a hip injury, played just 10 snaps.
Matthew Butler played his most snaps of the season (13), equaling Paul Bain and Emmit Gooden’s PT. Quart’e Sapp did not play a snap Saturday.
As a reminder, this is the PFF grading scale.
< 50 = Bad
50-60 = Average
70-80 = Above Average
80-84 = Good
85 and up = Very, very good.
With that … the Tennessee-Florida advanced stats…
OFFENSIVE GRADES
1. WR Jauan Jennings (76.7)
2. WR Marquez Callaway (69.8)
3. RB Madre London (62.7)
4. WR Josh Palmer (61.7)
5. QB Jarrett Guarantano (61.6)
6. LG Jahmir Johnson (60.6)
7. RG Jerome Carvin (60.0)
8. RT Drew Richmond (58.9)
9. RB Ty Chandler (56.0)
10. LT Trey Smith (54.3)
11. TE Dominick Wood-Anderson (47.4)
12. C Ryan Johnson (46.4)
Other notables who played lots of snaps: RB Madre London (62.7), LG Riley Locklear (60.1), Keller Chryst (54.8), WR Brandon Johnson (51.2), Austin Pope (31.4)
*** I noted in my review piece that Tennessee A) let the quarterback get hit way too many times and B) the run game was pitiful, with half the rushes going for two yards or fewer. PFF’s grades certainly back up both statements, as Tennessee had a single lineman earn a grade north of 60, which is considered average, and that guy was benched for a portion of game (Locklear replaced Johnson).
*** Smith continued his tough start to his sophomore season, struggling as both a run and pass protector Saturday. As a unit, the OL allowed nine pressures and five other hurries, and Smith was the culprit for three pressures, two hurries and a quarterback hit. Richmond draws a lot of flack, but he has widely outperformed Smith as a pass protector so far in 2018. He wasn’t great Saturday with a penalty, hurry and pressure, but on the season, Richmond has a PBLK grade of 78.3 while Smith’s stands at 58.9. Smith has been UT's best run blocker through four games, though.
For the fourth straight week, Carvin continued his odd splits of being a solid pass protector and really sub-par run blocker. Meanwhile, Ryan Johnson actually graded out as the team’s top pass protector, but its worst run blocker.
*** Tim Jordan was asked to pass protect three times Saturday and he missed his assignment twice, giving the sophomore tailback a PFF grade of 13.9. That’s as low as a grade I’ve seen for a subsection for a UT player so far in 2018.
*** Guarantano was just 7 of 18 for 159 yards and two picks, but Tennessee dropped three JG passes Saturday. The second-year starter struggled mightily under pressure, though, completing just a single pass for 15 yards (Tennessee’s initial 1st down of the game). On the other six drop backs under pressure, Guarantano was sacked once, threw four incompletions and had an interception.
*** Tennessee rushed for 158 yards on Saturday — 142 after contact. They had just three rushes over 10 yards, two from London.
*** As for the wideouts, the Vols had success going after freshman corner Trey Dean (2 of 3 targets for 61 yards and two first downs) and nickel-back Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (3 of 4 targets, with a drop, for 50 yards and three first downs) but they didn’t do it enough. CJ Henderson got flagged a couple times, but he held Callaway in check (0 for 3).
DEFENESIVE GRADES
1. DT Shy Tuttle (79.8)
2. OLB Darrell Taylor (75.8)
3. RS Micah Abernathy (74.3)
4. CB Alontae Taylor (72.6)
5. CB Bryce Thompson (71.1)
6. CB Baylen Buchanan (70.1)
7. LS Nigel Warrior (68.5)
8. DE Kyle Phillips (65.4)
9. MLB Daniel Bituli (61.6)
10. OLB Jonathan Kongbo (59.0)
11. DT Alexis Johnson (56.7)
12. SS Theo Jackson (40.7)
13. MLB Darrin Kirkland Jr. (38.4)
Other notable grades defensively: MLB Will Ignont (61.8), LS Trevon Flowers (40.8)
Pruitt thought several guys played their best game of the season Saturday, and PFF’s stats back that up. Tuttle, Taylor, Abernathy and Buchanan were all solid overall.
*** PFF stats also supported the rewatch opinion on Alexis Johnson. The senior tackle was impressive on passing downs (three hurries and a sack), but the former JUCO prospect graded out as the worst run defender on the defensive line.
*** Senior linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. had a tough evening vs. Florida, making minimal impact on 29 snaps. The middle linebacker was responsible on the touchdown to the full-back at the goal line. With DK struggling, Ignont saw an increase in playing time. The sophomore played one fewer snap than DK. Ignont had a pair of “stops” in the run game, and he allowed two short completions.
*** Florida picked on Jackson in coverage, completing 3 of 3 targets for 67 yards, two first downs and a score. Flowers was victimized on Freddie Swain’s long touchdown, with Buchanan taking a bad angle coming off his guy to try and make a tackle.
However, Van Jefferson and Trevon Grimes were mostly non-factors, as Buchanan and Thompson allowed just a single reception to Florida’s two transfer wideouts.
*** Notable snaps: Florida ran 53 plays Saturday and Buchanan and Warrior were the only two guys to never leave the field. Abernathy played 51 snaps and Taylor, who was had the big forced fumble, played 46 snaps but was not targeted. Thompson, dealing with a hip injury, played just 10 snaps.
Matthew Butler played his most snaps of the season (13), equaling Paul Bain and Emmit Gooden’s PT. Quart’e Sapp did not play a snap Saturday.
