London Vol
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GAME 1 – CHATTANOOGA 31 AUGUST 2024
During the eight long months waiting for game 1 of the new season there was plenty of time to imagine the heights of “will the engraver on the National Championship trophy remember there are 4 and not 3 E`s in the word Tennessee”, to the depths of “well Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t so bad after all”. Well we now have our first look at the 2024 team and I can say that the first half was the best half I have ever seen from the Vols and before people remind me who the opposition was I will say Georgia State and Austin Peay (I believe that 69 points is the highest score ever beating the 67 points in 1914). However, because of the level of Chattanooga (whom I thought were very game for a FCS team), I am going to base my grades more on the “eye test” rather than the Box Score.
QUARTERBACKS A+
Having been burnt with quarterbacks in the past being the next “Peyton”, I wanted to see first hand what the coaches and experts saw in Nico Iamaleava and after last night I think they might actually have underplayed his potential. 22-28-314-3-0 are elite stats for anybody, then consider that was in ONE Half only. It was more than that though, he clearly has command and a presence of calmness as shown in last year’s Bowl Game which means the game is not too big for him to succeed., but his throws have a quick release, they are very accurate, and crisp with a “on a frozen rope” look. But finally, the most impressive thing I saw was the throws over the middle. Yes they created points on the board (never a bad thing) but if the center field is now available to attack going forward, then add that to the passes in the “flat” and the downfield boundary shots. he becomes almost impossible to defend against, an absolute nightmare for opposition defensive coordinators. What we saw in Gaston Moore was just how important Nico stays healthy and I actually suspect that Jake Merklinger might be a better option if needed. But yesterday was all about No 8.
RUNNING BACKS A
304 yards on the ground at 6.6 ypc is great and it is hard to mark those stats down even for allowing the level of the opposition. Dylan Sampson 124 yards at over 10 ypc continues to impress and being the undisputed number 1 running back he is going have a 1,000 yard season and probably many more. He also seemed to have bulked up which hopefully will help in his pass protection duties which has always been the one knock on him. DeSean Bishop was the 2nd back for me. Because he was ranked 1320 on On3 one always felt others (Cameron Seldon) were given first chance, well I want the best man next up not the highest ranked. Seldon and the others were serviceable so there is more depth than I thought here but its Sampson then Bishop for me next week.
WIDE RECEIVERS A+
The word here is “spread the love” because Nico successfully passed to 15, that’s not a typo 15, receivers, surely that has to be some sort of record. But I would like to mention three, firstly Dont’e Thornton 105 yards, he looked a totally different player than last season and now we see what the hype a year ago was about for him. Chris Brazzell was this seasons Portal hope and he looked fine and the bonus with him is he has three years eligibility left. But the best news for me was Bru McCoy who looked not only fit but even better than last season. I really feared he may not have ever played again after last year’s cheap shot. Finally I was most impressed how all the receivers had really sticky hands, lets hope it long continues.
TIGHT ENDS A-
Ethan Davis was the really bright light here for me. I felt that Holden Staes and Myles Kitselman would be “first men up” with the express plan to give extra insurance for Nico to stay upright, but Davis was the starter, and he showed what a very mobile receiver he is. Now I am not suggesting we have Kyle Pitts or Brock Bowers in the room but he could he the best Tight End catching receiver we had had for a long while.
OFFENSIVE LINE A -
The “big uglies” overall looked good and 713 yards of offense suggests that they had a good day. But there were two moments of concern, Andre Karic was blown up and Sampson was forced into a chop block penalty and Lance Heard completely whiffed on the Nico sack. But overall, a good day in the trenches
DEFENSIVE LINE B
As I said at the start these grades are based on the “eye test” and I thought that the Defensive Tackles did not get as much penetration as I expected and the grade would have been lower is it was not for Tyre “the bull” West, Joshua Josephs and Jordan Ross all excelling. Whilst mentioning Ross, this guy is a beast as shown later with the blocked punt as well. So no need to fear next season when James Pearce gets drafted in the 2025 1st round, Ross will be just as good.
LINEBACKERS C+
I had the department vastly improved this season but on first look Keenan Pili didn’t stand out and Arion Carter is yet to deliver the performance his undoubted talent suggests. However, it was yet again Mr dependable Jeremiah Telander who was the best Linebacker and maybe he should be the 1st name on the depth chart not the 3rd.
DEFENSIVE BACKS C
I so want to praise this unit this season but last night was again patchy. There were a few bright spots like Jordan Matthews having two break ups (but please, please turn your head, the first break up could have been an INT) and Jakobe Thomas has a tight coverage break up. But starting next week the standard of the opposition creaks up markedly and I am still concerned we are vulnerable in the back field.
Overall, I went to bed very happy especially as I watched NC State on Thursday struggle against Western Carolina (they were actually losing in the fourth quarter). That first half tells me ANYTHING is possible this season so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Finally, can I thank all the support and kind words I received when I opened up about my health issues some weeks ago, it really meant a lot to me.
GO VOLS
During the eight long months waiting for game 1 of the new season there was plenty of time to imagine the heights of “will the engraver on the National Championship trophy remember there are 4 and not 3 E`s in the word Tennessee”, to the depths of “well Jeremy Pruitt wasn’t so bad after all”. Well we now have our first look at the 2024 team and I can say that the first half was the best half I have ever seen from the Vols and before people remind me who the opposition was I will say Georgia State and Austin Peay (I believe that 69 points is the highest score ever beating the 67 points in 1914). However, because of the level of Chattanooga (whom I thought were very game for a FCS team), I am going to base my grades more on the “eye test” rather than the Box Score.
QUARTERBACKS A+
Having been burnt with quarterbacks in the past being the next “Peyton”, I wanted to see first hand what the coaches and experts saw in Nico Iamaleava and after last night I think they might actually have underplayed his potential. 22-28-314-3-0 are elite stats for anybody, then consider that was in ONE Half only. It was more than that though, he clearly has command and a presence of calmness as shown in last year’s Bowl Game which means the game is not too big for him to succeed., but his throws have a quick release, they are very accurate, and crisp with a “on a frozen rope” look. But finally, the most impressive thing I saw was the throws over the middle. Yes they created points on the board (never a bad thing) but if the center field is now available to attack going forward, then add that to the passes in the “flat” and the downfield boundary shots. he becomes almost impossible to defend against, an absolute nightmare for opposition defensive coordinators. What we saw in Gaston Moore was just how important Nico stays healthy and I actually suspect that Jake Merklinger might be a better option if needed. But yesterday was all about No 8.
RUNNING BACKS A
304 yards on the ground at 6.6 ypc is great and it is hard to mark those stats down even for allowing the level of the opposition. Dylan Sampson 124 yards at over 10 ypc continues to impress and being the undisputed number 1 running back he is going have a 1,000 yard season and probably many more. He also seemed to have bulked up which hopefully will help in his pass protection duties which has always been the one knock on him. DeSean Bishop was the 2nd back for me. Because he was ranked 1320 on On3 one always felt others (Cameron Seldon) were given first chance, well I want the best man next up not the highest ranked. Seldon and the others were serviceable so there is more depth than I thought here but its Sampson then Bishop for me next week.
WIDE RECEIVERS A+
The word here is “spread the love” because Nico successfully passed to 15, that’s not a typo 15, receivers, surely that has to be some sort of record. But I would like to mention three, firstly Dont’e Thornton 105 yards, he looked a totally different player than last season and now we see what the hype a year ago was about for him. Chris Brazzell was this seasons Portal hope and he looked fine and the bonus with him is he has three years eligibility left. But the best news for me was Bru McCoy who looked not only fit but even better than last season. I really feared he may not have ever played again after last year’s cheap shot. Finally I was most impressed how all the receivers had really sticky hands, lets hope it long continues.
TIGHT ENDS A-
Ethan Davis was the really bright light here for me. I felt that Holden Staes and Myles Kitselman would be “first men up” with the express plan to give extra insurance for Nico to stay upright, but Davis was the starter, and he showed what a very mobile receiver he is. Now I am not suggesting we have Kyle Pitts or Brock Bowers in the room but he could he the best Tight End catching receiver we had had for a long while.
OFFENSIVE LINE A -
The “big uglies” overall looked good and 713 yards of offense suggests that they had a good day. But there were two moments of concern, Andre Karic was blown up and Sampson was forced into a chop block penalty and Lance Heard completely whiffed on the Nico sack. But overall, a good day in the trenches
DEFENSIVE LINE B
As I said at the start these grades are based on the “eye test” and I thought that the Defensive Tackles did not get as much penetration as I expected and the grade would have been lower is it was not for Tyre “the bull” West, Joshua Josephs and Jordan Ross all excelling. Whilst mentioning Ross, this guy is a beast as shown later with the blocked punt as well. So no need to fear next season when James Pearce gets drafted in the 2025 1st round, Ross will be just as good.
LINEBACKERS C+
I had the department vastly improved this season but on first look Keenan Pili didn’t stand out and Arion Carter is yet to deliver the performance his undoubted talent suggests. However, it was yet again Mr dependable Jeremiah Telander who was the best Linebacker and maybe he should be the 1st name on the depth chart not the 3rd.
DEFENSIVE BACKS C
I so want to praise this unit this season but last night was again patchy. There were a few bright spots like Jordan Matthews having two break ups (but please, please turn your head, the first break up could have been an INT) and Jakobe Thomas has a tight coverage break up. But starting next week the standard of the opposition creaks up markedly and I am still concerned we are vulnerable in the back field.
Overall, I went to bed very happy especially as I watched NC State on Thursday struggle against Western Carolina (they were actually losing in the fourth quarter). That first half tells me ANYTHING is possible this season so buckle up and enjoy the ride.
Finally, can I thank all the support and kind words I received when I opened up about my health issues some weeks ago, it really meant a lot to me.
GO VOLS
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this guy thinks it’s easy! Lol! Run full speed with a receiver, while trying to stay locked in on his route and then turn your head at exactly the right time. Yeah boy that’s not Hard! Malachi Starks has done this before there’s a reason he was recruited so highly.
