London Vol
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GAME 10 - NORTH MEXICO STATE
I have never been a big fan of cupcake games but when you get only 13 games followed by 8 months of inaction I’ll take anything. When you pay your opponent a reputed $1.6million then you cannot expect a competitive game so to make it interesting, before the game I decided I would look more closely at some of the younger/inexperienced players, as these will probably be needed to start in Josh Heupel's year 6.
So my list started with, there is no more important position that the QB so it should be a good chance to see how much George McIntyre has developed this season and with Jake Merklinger reputedly leaving this offseason, McIntyre is very much in the mix to start in 2026. Next is Ty Redmond, he has had a roller coaster year as a true freshman and he will likely pair with Ricky Gibson and Edrees Farooq as part of the DB starters in 2026, Jadon Perlotte and Jaedon Harmon (if fit) could very well be the LBs and from a very small sample I was most interested in what I saw from RB Daune Morris and TE DaShaahn Brame earlier this season. Finally, I will watch closely Radarious Jackson, who has shown some promise, and I hope he will see plenty of playing time tonight.
Well, it turned out to be what I might call a functional win. By game 10 quite frankly a team ’is what it is’ and this team is good, not great, explosive on Offense and porous on Defense and for years now it seems incapable to defend a slant. I predicted 9-3 before the season, well I would take 8-4 right now.
QUARTERBACKS C -
Possibly the most unsatisfying game from Joey Aguilar this season as it took leaving him in to the 4th quarter to keep his 200-yard game streak going. I thought he seemed to hold on to the ball for too long, it was if he was indecisive and then started “to freelance”, against better opponents the sacks would have racked up. It’s starting to be a long season for Joey but overall, he has been a big plus and will be remembered fondly. I scratched my head when Jake Merklinger came out next instead of George McIntyre and Merklinger again did himself no favours. I am a big Huepel fan and he has done wonders considering where the program was when he arrived, but he has an odd record of evaluating QBs, remember he chose Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker (fortunately for the Vols Milton got hurt in game 2 and the 2022 season became historic under Hooker), he hand selected the “Drama in Pyjamas“ and now chose Merklinger over McIntyre as the backup in 2025, lets hope Faizon Brandon is an exception to the rule.
RUNNING BACKS B
194 yards at 5 ypc is the best output from this unit for a few weeks and the productivity was spread evenly, also the RBs accounted for 4 TDs. But I was disappointed that Morris only got 2 carries considering the game was won well before the end.
WIDE RECEIVERS B +
Another week with few drops and Braylon Staley continues to the “main man”. I was particularly impressed with the catch for his TD which he made it look easy when it was most definitely not, he could be our WR1 next season. Chris Brazzell II had 65 yards and was unlucky not to score a TD early on. I must be honest whilst Mike Matthews is not a liability he did fail again to haul in a long pass. I hope he will breakout next season like Hyatt, Thornton and Brazzell have done in the past because he has all the tools to be elite. Back to my list, sadly no stats for Jackson
TIGHT ENDS C -
Miles Kitselman didn’t show enough aggression with the INT, and he seems to have regressed as the season has gone on and unfortunately seemed to have gotten injured late in the game, it will be sad if his career on Rocky Top goes out in a whimper as he has done well in Orange. Back to my list which is not going well as there were no stats for Brame either.
OFFENSIVE LINE B
Aguilar had plenty of time to survey the field so the pass protection was good and the number output from the RBs would not happen without good blocking, so this was not a bad day at the office for “the Big Uglies”. Not sure if Wendell Moe was injured? this would be a problem for the rest of the season as the Vols are not deep in this Unit.
DEFENSIVE LINE B -
As I have written many times this season Byson Eason and Dominic Bailey have been stalwarts and last night Bailey recorded 1 SACK and 1 1/2 TFLs. Daevin Hobbs is growing each week as he is getting a run of games under his belt after a long layoff and last night he was the top tackler with 9 which is rare for a DT.
LINEBACKERS B
At last, I struck gold on my list, go to the tape of the game and fast forward to 7:39 in the 3rd Quarter and you will see one of the best hits I have seen from a Tennessee player for some years when Jadon Perotte gave a perfect example of “laying the wood”. This was not his only highlight as he also recorded a TFL and a number of big tackles. He has made such an impression that I expect him to appear on some Freshman teams after the season. I continue to like Edwin Spillman and these two look like the starters next season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS B +
I am now on a roll as I think Ty Redmond might actually have been the “player of the game”. Each week I have kept saying “be patient he will be a good one”, well he showed all that potential with a number of open field tackles, sticky coverage and capping it all with a one-handed INT. Colton Hood also had another good game, and he should go high in the 2026 Draft. I have, over the years enjoyed highlighting moments from the unheralded Walk-ons (Will Brooks immediately comes to mind), this time it is William Wright who iced his career on Rocky Top with a PICK 6, well done young man. enjoy your 15 minutes of fame.
BIG MOMENT – CUPCAKE GAMES
The big moment for me was when I read that from next season there will be 9 SEC games instead of 8. Now I realise the teams will cannibalise themselves regarding qualifying for the Playoff’s, but I prefer to see great competitive games rather than glorified scrimmages, how about playing a couple of Cupcake games at the end of Spring Training?
Please feel free to post your comments I enjoy them.
GO VOLS
I have never been a big fan of cupcake games but when you get only 13 games followed by 8 months of inaction I’ll take anything. When you pay your opponent a reputed $1.6million then you cannot expect a competitive game so to make it interesting, before the game I decided I would look more closely at some of the younger/inexperienced players, as these will probably be needed to start in Josh Heupel's year 6.
So my list started with, there is no more important position that the QB so it should be a good chance to see how much George McIntyre has developed this season and with Jake Merklinger reputedly leaving this offseason, McIntyre is very much in the mix to start in 2026. Next is Ty Redmond, he has had a roller coaster year as a true freshman and he will likely pair with Ricky Gibson and Edrees Farooq as part of the DB starters in 2026, Jadon Perlotte and Jaedon Harmon (if fit) could very well be the LBs and from a very small sample I was most interested in what I saw from RB Daune Morris and TE DaShaahn Brame earlier this season. Finally, I will watch closely Radarious Jackson, who has shown some promise, and I hope he will see plenty of playing time tonight.
Well, it turned out to be what I might call a functional win. By game 10 quite frankly a team ’is what it is’ and this team is good, not great, explosive on Offense and porous on Defense and for years now it seems incapable to defend a slant. I predicted 9-3 before the season, well I would take 8-4 right now.
QUARTERBACKS C -
Possibly the most unsatisfying game from Joey Aguilar this season as it took leaving him in to the 4th quarter to keep his 200-yard game streak going. I thought he seemed to hold on to the ball for too long, it was if he was indecisive and then started “to freelance”, against better opponents the sacks would have racked up. It’s starting to be a long season for Joey but overall, he has been a big plus and will be remembered fondly. I scratched my head when Jake Merklinger came out next instead of George McIntyre and Merklinger again did himself no favours. I am a big Huepel fan and he has done wonders considering where the program was when he arrived, but he has an odd record of evaluating QBs, remember he chose Joe Milton over Hendon Hooker (fortunately for the Vols Milton got hurt in game 2 and the 2022 season became historic under Hooker), he hand selected the “Drama in Pyjamas“ and now chose Merklinger over McIntyre as the backup in 2025, lets hope Faizon Brandon is an exception to the rule.
RUNNING BACKS B
194 yards at 5 ypc is the best output from this unit for a few weeks and the productivity was spread evenly, also the RBs accounted for 4 TDs. But I was disappointed that Morris only got 2 carries considering the game was won well before the end.
WIDE RECEIVERS B +
Another week with few drops and Braylon Staley continues to the “main man”. I was particularly impressed with the catch for his TD which he made it look easy when it was most definitely not, he could be our WR1 next season. Chris Brazzell II had 65 yards and was unlucky not to score a TD early on. I must be honest whilst Mike Matthews is not a liability he did fail again to haul in a long pass. I hope he will breakout next season like Hyatt, Thornton and Brazzell have done in the past because he has all the tools to be elite. Back to my list, sadly no stats for Jackson
TIGHT ENDS C -
Miles Kitselman didn’t show enough aggression with the INT, and he seems to have regressed as the season has gone on and unfortunately seemed to have gotten injured late in the game, it will be sad if his career on Rocky Top goes out in a whimper as he has done well in Orange. Back to my list which is not going well as there were no stats for Brame either.
OFFENSIVE LINE B
Aguilar had plenty of time to survey the field so the pass protection was good and the number output from the RBs would not happen without good blocking, so this was not a bad day at the office for “the Big Uglies”. Not sure if Wendell Moe was injured? this would be a problem for the rest of the season as the Vols are not deep in this Unit.
DEFENSIVE LINE B -
As I have written many times this season Byson Eason and Dominic Bailey have been stalwarts and last night Bailey recorded 1 SACK and 1 1/2 TFLs. Daevin Hobbs is growing each week as he is getting a run of games under his belt after a long layoff and last night he was the top tackler with 9 which is rare for a DT.
LINEBACKERS B
At last, I struck gold on my list, go to the tape of the game and fast forward to 7:39 in the 3rd Quarter and you will see one of the best hits I have seen from a Tennessee player for some years when Jadon Perotte gave a perfect example of “laying the wood”. This was not his only highlight as he also recorded a TFL and a number of big tackles. He has made such an impression that I expect him to appear on some Freshman teams after the season. I continue to like Edwin Spillman and these two look like the starters next season.
DEFENSIVE BACKS B +
I am now on a roll as I think Ty Redmond might actually have been the “player of the game”. Each week I have kept saying “be patient he will be a good one”, well he showed all that potential with a number of open field tackles, sticky coverage and capping it all with a one-handed INT. Colton Hood also had another good game, and he should go high in the 2026 Draft. I have, over the years enjoyed highlighting moments from the unheralded Walk-ons (Will Brooks immediately comes to mind), this time it is William Wright who iced his career on Rocky Top with a PICK 6, well done young man. enjoy your 15 minutes of fame.
BIG MOMENT – CUPCAKE GAMES
The big moment for me was when I read that from next season there will be 9 SEC games instead of 8. Now I realise the teams will cannibalise themselves regarding qualifying for the Playoff’s, but I prefer to see great competitive games rather than glorified scrimmages, how about playing a couple of Cupcake games at the end of Spring Training?
Please feel free to post your comments I enjoy them.
GO VOLS
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