TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS
QUARTERBACKS
Will McBride’s night began remarkably well for a freshman making his first start and doing so on the road. He proved a true threat to run the ball, finishing with 63 yards on 14 carries and a long rush of 43. A pair of second-half interceptions dampened an otherwise impressive performance.
RUNNING BACKS
Ty Chandler and John Kelly had trouble getting free behind a revamped offensive line. This unit has struggled in back-to-back games after Chandler’s breakout performance in the absence of Kelly on Oct. 28 at Kentucky.
RECEIVERS
There’s just not much to work with here without Marquez Callaway, Jauan Jennings and Josh Smith. Brother tight ends Eli and Ethan Wolf both made nice plays, including a touchdown grab by Ethan.
OFFENSIVE LINE
A group that once had 14 scholarship players was down to five (four of them freshmen) by the second half. They struggled — McBride was sacked five times — but that’s to be expected considering the difficult circumstances created largely by injuries.
DEFENSIVE LINE
The ends rarely pressured quarterback Drew Lock, and the tackles couldn’t keep the Tigers’ running backs from getting positive yards on seemingly every down. Ish Witter had 216 yards on 24 carries (9.0 average) and Larry Rountree 155 on 18 (8.6).
LINEBACKERS
This group could not do much to keep the running backs from slicing Tennessee’s defense to shreds, either. It will have to be better for the Volunteers to stay competitive against LSU this Saturday.
DEFENSIVE BACKS
Lock completed less than 50 percent of his passes, but when he was on, he made the secondary look bad. Safety Nigel Warrior provided Tennessee’s defensive highlight with a 70-yard interception return for a touchdown.
SPECIAL TEAMS
No surprise here, but senior Trevor Daniel dropped another four punts inside the 20-yard line as he continues to make his case for the Ray Guy Award. Aaron Medley hit a career-long 48-yard field goal.
COACHING
It’s hard to fathom, but the Vols have lost their most recent game against every current Southeastern Conference member. The next game will be in someone else’s hands, though. Five years in, the Butch Jones era is over.