London Vol
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GAME 2 – ETSU
After last week’s great start to the season and before possibly our toughest game next week, we had a cupgame against ETSU. Only rarely are these games competitive and last night was no exception. So, instead of grading positions as it would seem pointless giving Arion Carter an A+ as quite frankly he should get one against this level of opposition, I decided to focus on performances of new players such as Freshmen, Portal arrivals and even Walk Ons. There is another reason to focus on these as it has become harder and harder in College Football to build depth due to the mass movement of players. These depth players are going to be important as injuries start to pile up.
QUARTERBACKS - JOEY AGUILAR
I know he was always going to be the starter this season, but he is new, remember. He had another big performance to build on last week with 23-31 288 yards 2TDs and 0 INTs in only one half and the numbers could have been even better with at least three drops. My only criticism was the play that most fans who were probably most happy with, was the “Hail Mary” pass for the Mike Matthews TD. On another day of almost perfect pass protection by the Offensive Line he did not need to take that sort of risk (it is in the blood of a gunslinger) and better Secondaries will make him pay this season, but overall I am delighted with him. At last we saw Jake Merklinger and George Macintyre and despite two TDs by Merklinger I thought Macintyre was the better back up.
RUNNING BACKS - STAR THOMAS
Yet again there was a committee of three carrying ‘the rock’ with Star Thomas and Peyton Lewis being the new boys. For me, as last week, I thought Thomas was the star (sorry about that) with some moves that remind me of Ashton Jenty. He is also far more reliable that Bishop out of the backfield. Later on we had a chance to see the two Freshmen Daune Morris with 48 yards and Justin Baker with 37 yards and they looked terrific. We seem to have great depth in this department
WIDE RECEIVERS - MIKE MATTHEWS AND BRAYLON STALEY
It was always clear that Mike Matthews has 5 * potential and at last he converted this into a 100-yard game. Braylon Staley also had 39 yards and combined with Matthews they had 11 catches. Think ahead to next year when the No 1 QB and No 1 WR arriving on campus, the future looks amazing.
TIGHT ENDS - ETHAN DAVIS
A second consecutive game when Tennessee had a TD taken off the scoreboard due to a penalty from Davis, whether they were unfair calls or not it mustn’t continue as the competition gets harder from next week. It did not help with him again not contributing in the passing game. There has been a lot of talk this off season that Jack Van Dorselaer was built more like a Senior than a true Freshman and his late TD only added to his reputation as 'one to watch'. This will put Davis under pressure to deliver soon otherwise he will be passed over and probably off to the Portal.
OFFENSIVE LINE - EVERYBODY BUT LANCE HEARD.
I am so impressed how the O`Line continue to dominate with keeping Aguilar's cleaning bills low whilst opening holes for another 200 + running yards. I especially would like to mention Shamurad Umarov who will be the ‘odd man out’ when David Sanders finally get on the field, a demotion he absolutely does not deserve but at least we have some strength in depth after losing Larry Johnson.
DEFENSIVE LINE - CHARLES HOUSE
As I have written many times, I think we are thin on numbers this year on the Defensive Line and losing Daevin Hobbs and Jaxson Moi then back-up Tyree Weathersby only makes us thinner. Well late in the game we saw a pleasant surprise with Charles House coming up with 1 SACK and 1½ TFLs. Remember House was ranked No 611 so he is a big bonus for the depth chart and can expect some more playing time
LINEBACKERS – EDWIN SPILLMAN
It’s been a struggle with injuries for Spillman since he arrived on Knoxville but at last, he is getting a clean run of games, and the stats are starting to come such as last night which included a QBH. We know who are the starting two are but as the LBs are usually rotated, his emergence is vital.
DEFENSIVE BACKS - COLTON HOOD AND TY REDMOND
Yet again the Cornerbacks Hood and Redmond were outstanding, perhaps they should be called “the shrink wrap backs” such is their tight coverage. I didn’t begin to appreciate the importance of the signing of Hood or how good he was, especially with the losses of Jermod McCoy and Ricky Gibson. I am not sure he will actually be relegated to the bench when they are fit. As for Redmond, he was ranked one place lower than House at No 702, but this true Freshman is so good that he may need to invest in a Trophy Cabinet to keep all the awards that are coming his way at the end of this season.
BIG MOMENT - BOO CARTER
There was not a big moment this week so I wanted to give credit to Carter for his overall performance. Not only did he make some great open field tackles but his Punt returning was a continuous highlight reel. I don’t wish to go into details about his off-season as he is clearly a complicated person but on the field he is one of the great game changers and somebody who makes Tennessee a very dangerous team.
Gosh, its 2:01am in England, anyway please post your comments and opinions please.
GO VOLS
After last week’s great start to the season and before possibly our toughest game next week, we had a cupgame against ETSU. Only rarely are these games competitive and last night was no exception. So, instead of grading positions as it would seem pointless giving Arion Carter an A+ as quite frankly he should get one against this level of opposition, I decided to focus on performances of new players such as Freshmen, Portal arrivals and even Walk Ons. There is another reason to focus on these as it has become harder and harder in College Football to build depth due to the mass movement of players. These depth players are going to be important as injuries start to pile up.
QUARTERBACKS - JOEY AGUILAR
I know he was always going to be the starter this season, but he is new, remember. He had another big performance to build on last week with 23-31 288 yards 2TDs and 0 INTs in only one half and the numbers could have been even better with at least three drops. My only criticism was the play that most fans who were probably most happy with, was the “Hail Mary” pass for the Mike Matthews TD. On another day of almost perfect pass protection by the Offensive Line he did not need to take that sort of risk (it is in the blood of a gunslinger) and better Secondaries will make him pay this season, but overall I am delighted with him. At last we saw Jake Merklinger and George Macintyre and despite two TDs by Merklinger I thought Macintyre was the better back up.
RUNNING BACKS - STAR THOMAS
Yet again there was a committee of three carrying ‘the rock’ with Star Thomas and Peyton Lewis being the new boys. For me, as last week, I thought Thomas was the star (sorry about that) with some moves that remind me of Ashton Jenty. He is also far more reliable that Bishop out of the backfield. Later on we had a chance to see the two Freshmen Daune Morris with 48 yards and Justin Baker with 37 yards and they looked terrific. We seem to have great depth in this department
WIDE RECEIVERS - MIKE MATTHEWS AND BRAYLON STALEY
It was always clear that Mike Matthews has 5 * potential and at last he converted this into a 100-yard game. Braylon Staley also had 39 yards and combined with Matthews they had 11 catches. Think ahead to next year when the No 1 QB and No 1 WR arriving on campus, the future looks amazing.
TIGHT ENDS - ETHAN DAVIS
A second consecutive game when Tennessee had a TD taken off the scoreboard due to a penalty from Davis, whether they were unfair calls or not it mustn’t continue as the competition gets harder from next week. It did not help with him again not contributing in the passing game. There has been a lot of talk this off season that Jack Van Dorselaer was built more like a Senior than a true Freshman and his late TD only added to his reputation as 'one to watch'. This will put Davis under pressure to deliver soon otherwise he will be passed over and probably off to the Portal.
OFFENSIVE LINE - EVERYBODY BUT LANCE HEARD.
I am so impressed how the O`Line continue to dominate with keeping Aguilar's cleaning bills low whilst opening holes for another 200 + running yards. I especially would like to mention Shamurad Umarov who will be the ‘odd man out’ when David Sanders finally get on the field, a demotion he absolutely does not deserve but at least we have some strength in depth after losing Larry Johnson.
DEFENSIVE LINE - CHARLES HOUSE
As I have written many times, I think we are thin on numbers this year on the Defensive Line and losing Daevin Hobbs and Jaxson Moi then back-up Tyree Weathersby only makes us thinner. Well late in the game we saw a pleasant surprise with Charles House coming up with 1 SACK and 1½ TFLs. Remember House was ranked No 611 so he is a big bonus for the depth chart and can expect some more playing time
LINEBACKERS – EDWIN SPILLMAN
It’s been a struggle with injuries for Spillman since he arrived on Knoxville but at last, he is getting a clean run of games, and the stats are starting to come such as last night which included a QBH. We know who are the starting two are but as the LBs are usually rotated, his emergence is vital.
DEFENSIVE BACKS - COLTON HOOD AND TY REDMOND
Yet again the Cornerbacks Hood and Redmond were outstanding, perhaps they should be called “the shrink wrap backs” such is their tight coverage. I didn’t begin to appreciate the importance of the signing of Hood or how good he was, especially with the losses of Jermod McCoy and Ricky Gibson. I am not sure he will actually be relegated to the bench when they are fit. As for Redmond, he was ranked one place lower than House at No 702, but this true Freshman is so good that he may need to invest in a Trophy Cabinet to keep all the awards that are coming his way at the end of this season.
BIG MOMENT - BOO CARTER
There was not a big moment this week so I wanted to give credit to Carter for his overall performance. Not only did he make some great open field tackles but his Punt returning was a continuous highlight reel. I don’t wish to go into details about his off-season as he is clearly a complicated person but on the field he is one of the great game changers and somebody who makes Tennessee a very dangerous team.
Gosh, its 2:01am in England, anyway please post your comments and opinions please.
GO VOLS
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