London Vol
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GAME 5 – SOUTH CAROLINA 30th SEP 2023
During each football season a team usually arrives at a Crossroads when their fortune can go diametrically in either opposite direction and it sure felt like South Carolina was our Crossroads this season. It’s been a hard season so far to evaluate Tennessee with some good performances (Virginia and UTSA) and some flaky performances (Florida and Austin Peay) so last night there was no hiding place for the Vols and it was time to find out if the 2023 team is a 6-7 team or a 8-9 team or even better? Before I give my verdict, here is my summary of the positional performances.
QUARTERBACKS B
Personally I was pleased with Joe Milton III, 239 yards 1 TD, 2 INTs. I thought he was sharp most of the evening with the highlight a great pass for the Warren touchdown. He also composed himself when he was physically shaken by the brutal Bru McCoy injury (I am always amazed how American Footballers can see moments like that then go back “out to war” the next play. Nobody likes to see two picks and the 1st was not good (at least he was trying to force the ball downfield instead of “dink and dunk’’ it), the 2nd, whilst slightly under thrown I felt that Warren at 6’7” should at least broken up the pass if not come down with it. It is moments like this that that I realize how good Cedric Tillman was. Like him or not, do get behind Milton, as barring injury, he is the starting quarterback this year.
RUNNING BACKS A
Yet again, Jaylen Wright, 123 yards at 7.7 ypc, was our best RB. He has been consistent all year and will find himself on many “end of year award” teams. Dylan Sampson 49 yards at 5.4 ypc was again underused and I think it is time that the order should be changed to Wright, Sampson then Small. This is no slant on Small who is such a blue-collar worker for the team and rarely let the Vols down, but Sampson is just the more explosive of the two.
WIDE RECEIVERS B-
First I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to Bru McCoy, I don’t know how bad it is, but it looked awful. If it is the last we see of him running through the “T” and considering that he arrived with a chequered (not orange and white) reputation, I have never read a single negative word written about him, he will go down in Vols folklore with THAT catch against Alabama last season. Whatever the future holds for him I hope it’s really good.
Squirrel White was again the main outlet for Milton, finishing with a healthy 104 yards from 9 catches. Suddenly this department looks a bit thin with Dont’e Thornton yet to deliver on the hype and Chas Nimrod dropping a big 3rd down pass that, although bullet like, was on the numbers. But in Heupel I trust.
TIGHT ENDS C
Sorry, I was not impressed with McCallan Castles and going forward I would rather see Jacob Warrens number called on passing plays for Tight Ends. As mentioned, he corralled a really tough catch for the TD. Although as mentioned, he should have done better on the INT, but I still think he can add more to the offense.
OFFENSIVE LINE A
”Night and Day” “Chalk and Cheese” choose your antonym, the Offensive Line is so much better with Cooper Mays back. Not only do you get a great play caller but suddenly snapping the ball does not seem to be an adventure. It also means that Ollie Lane can move to his preferred Left Guard position and with Gerald Mincey back at Right Tackle, we have finally arrived at our best combination. The O Line should also get a part of the Running grade for the holes that they opened.
DEFENSIVE LINE A+
Here you will find the stars of the evening. The result against South Carolina evolves round one simple observation, give Rattler time in the pocket and he will dissect you apart, hustle him and then you can stop him. So, the front four must and I mean, must pressurize him all day and boy did the Vols do that last night. And there was no brighter star than James Pearce Jr. He recorded 2 sacks (5 already this season) and 1 QBH but my eyes told me that those stats don’t nearly highlight how dominant he was. For instance, the pick 6 for Kamal Hadden was a direct result of an errant pass for Rattler because Pearce was draped all over him at the time. He wasn’t the only star though, all the D Line had big moments and the combined result was 6 Sacks, 8 TFLs 3 QBHs and most impressively, if you remove the 75 yard run (that was down to Herring, Beasley and McCullough losing gap discipline) the D Line actually restricted USC to a miserly 2.2 yards per carry. Also remember football is a complimentary sport where the pressure upfront allows the DBs to have a better chance to cover and thus look better.
LINEBACKERS B+
The Linebackers were solid all night except for the aforementioned busted play. I would like to shout out on behalf of the freshman, Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander, who both look studs and are contributing far earlier than could be reasonably expected. If we get Keenan Pili back in 2024, then we are well stocked in this unit.
DEFENSIVE BACKS A-
At last the much maligned DBs had a good night. I know that the pressure from the front 7 helped but I felt the coverage seemed much tighter (I was particularly pleased with Gabe Jeudy-Lally) and Kamal Hadden snared a really important pick 6 (I still think 3 of those should be awarded to Pearce). Wesley Walker (a very underrated player) was again reliable at Safety,
2024
But there is another positive from last night, the nucleus of the 2024 team was on show in Squirrel, Nico Iamaleava, Pearce, Joshua Josephs Carter Telander, Mincey and Sampson, before we add any returnees and the freshmen next season, (we already have a top 10 class of verbal commits and there was a big visitors list last night in attendance). Add all this to some transfer portal arrivals then the future is bright, the future is Orange.
As I said at the start, pending on last night performance and result, this season could go two vastly different directions, so my prediction is 8-9 wins
GO VOLS
During each football season a team usually arrives at a Crossroads when their fortune can go diametrically in either opposite direction and it sure felt like South Carolina was our Crossroads this season. It’s been a hard season so far to evaluate Tennessee with some good performances (Virginia and UTSA) and some flaky performances (Florida and Austin Peay) so last night there was no hiding place for the Vols and it was time to find out if the 2023 team is a 6-7 team or a 8-9 team or even better? Before I give my verdict, here is my summary of the positional performances.
QUARTERBACKS B
Personally I was pleased with Joe Milton III, 239 yards 1 TD, 2 INTs. I thought he was sharp most of the evening with the highlight a great pass for the Warren touchdown. He also composed himself when he was physically shaken by the brutal Bru McCoy injury (I am always amazed how American Footballers can see moments like that then go back “out to war” the next play. Nobody likes to see two picks and the 1st was not good (at least he was trying to force the ball downfield instead of “dink and dunk’’ it), the 2nd, whilst slightly under thrown I felt that Warren at 6’7” should at least broken up the pass if not come down with it. It is moments like this that that I realize how good Cedric Tillman was. Like him or not, do get behind Milton, as barring injury, he is the starting quarterback this year.
RUNNING BACKS A
Yet again, Jaylen Wright, 123 yards at 7.7 ypc, was our best RB. He has been consistent all year and will find himself on many “end of year award” teams. Dylan Sampson 49 yards at 5.4 ypc was again underused and I think it is time that the order should be changed to Wright, Sampson then Small. This is no slant on Small who is such a blue-collar worker for the team and rarely let the Vols down, but Sampson is just the more explosive of the two.
WIDE RECEIVERS B-
First I would like to send my thoughts and prayers to Bru McCoy, I don’t know how bad it is, but it looked awful. If it is the last we see of him running through the “T” and considering that he arrived with a chequered (not orange and white) reputation, I have never read a single negative word written about him, he will go down in Vols folklore with THAT catch against Alabama last season. Whatever the future holds for him I hope it’s really good.
Squirrel White was again the main outlet for Milton, finishing with a healthy 104 yards from 9 catches. Suddenly this department looks a bit thin with Dont’e Thornton yet to deliver on the hype and Chas Nimrod dropping a big 3rd down pass that, although bullet like, was on the numbers. But in Heupel I trust.
TIGHT ENDS C
Sorry, I was not impressed with McCallan Castles and going forward I would rather see Jacob Warrens number called on passing plays for Tight Ends. As mentioned, he corralled a really tough catch for the TD. Although as mentioned, he should have done better on the INT, but I still think he can add more to the offense.
OFFENSIVE LINE A
”Night and Day” “Chalk and Cheese” choose your antonym, the Offensive Line is so much better with Cooper Mays back. Not only do you get a great play caller but suddenly snapping the ball does not seem to be an adventure. It also means that Ollie Lane can move to his preferred Left Guard position and with Gerald Mincey back at Right Tackle, we have finally arrived at our best combination. The O Line should also get a part of the Running grade for the holes that they opened.
DEFENSIVE LINE A+
Here you will find the stars of the evening. The result against South Carolina evolves round one simple observation, give Rattler time in the pocket and he will dissect you apart, hustle him and then you can stop him. So, the front four must and I mean, must pressurize him all day and boy did the Vols do that last night. And there was no brighter star than James Pearce Jr. He recorded 2 sacks (5 already this season) and 1 QBH but my eyes told me that those stats don’t nearly highlight how dominant he was. For instance, the pick 6 for Kamal Hadden was a direct result of an errant pass for Rattler because Pearce was draped all over him at the time. He wasn’t the only star though, all the D Line had big moments and the combined result was 6 Sacks, 8 TFLs 3 QBHs and most impressively, if you remove the 75 yard run (that was down to Herring, Beasley and McCullough losing gap discipline) the D Line actually restricted USC to a miserly 2.2 yards per carry. Also remember football is a complimentary sport where the pressure upfront allows the DBs to have a better chance to cover and thus look better.
LINEBACKERS B+
The Linebackers were solid all night except for the aforementioned busted play. I would like to shout out on behalf of the freshman, Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander, who both look studs and are contributing far earlier than could be reasonably expected. If we get Keenan Pili back in 2024, then we are well stocked in this unit.
DEFENSIVE BACKS A-
At last the much maligned DBs had a good night. I know that the pressure from the front 7 helped but I felt the coverage seemed much tighter (I was particularly pleased with Gabe Jeudy-Lally) and Kamal Hadden snared a really important pick 6 (I still think 3 of those should be awarded to Pearce). Wesley Walker (a very underrated player) was again reliable at Safety,
2024
But there is another positive from last night, the nucleus of the 2024 team was on show in Squirrel, Nico Iamaleava, Pearce, Joshua Josephs Carter Telander, Mincey and Sampson, before we add any returnees and the freshmen next season, (we already have a top 10 class of verbal commits and there was a big visitors list last night in attendance). Add all this to some transfer portal arrivals then the future is bright, the future is Orange.
As I said at the start, pending on last night performance and result, this season could go two vastly different directions, so my prediction is 8-9 wins
GO VOLS
