Who were the MVPs for Vols football in 2018?
Tennessee’s first season under Jeremy Pruitt was highlighted by Top 25 victories over Auburn and Kentucky but ended in embarrassing fashion, with the Vols getting trounced by Missouri and Vanderbilt.
Tennessee finished with a 5-7 record, missing a bowl game for the second straight season.
Here are postseason awards.
Offensive MVP: Jarrett Guarantano
This one’s a challenge. Tennessee ranked last in the SEC in total offense for the second straight season. Its offensive line hamstrung the unit, like last year.
Running back Ty Chandler made some highlight plays, but he missed all or most of three games and only topped 90 yards rushing once.
Wide receiver Marquez Callaway had a good season, leading the team in receptions (37) and yards (592). But those numbers didn’t crack the top 15 in the SEC for those stats.
By process of elimination, Guarantano is the man left standing.
To be sure, Guarantano’s season wasn’t above rebuke, and he ended the year with a poor showing against Vanderbilt. Granted, he didn’t look 100 percent in that game after exiting with an injury the previous week. Guarantano started every game but missed most of the Alabama and Missouri games after taking punishing hits.
He struggled to pick up blitzes, a holdover from his freshman season. Combine that with a poor offensive line, and Guarantano was hit a lot.
Guarantano thrived, though, in wins over Auburn and Kentucky. He threw for 328 yards with two touchdowns against Auburn, and then passed for 197 yards with two TDs against Kentucky.
The best part of his season was that he threw only three interceptions.
Guarantano ranked eighth in the SEC in completion percentage and quarterback rating. He was rarely great, but often decent.
Defensive MVP: Kyle Phillips
Phillips got better as the season progressed. His 55 tackles, according to cfbstats.com, rank fourth among SEC defensive linemen. He tied for second on the team in sacks (four) and tackles for loss (seven). He even returned an interception for a touchdown against Alabama.
Phillips’ best performance came against Auburn. He made nine tackles and was named the SEC defensive lineman of the week.
He was also, by all accounts, a team leader who tried to do things the right way.
It’s just too bad the Vols don’t have one more season of Phillips, a former five-star prospect who finally flourished as a senior.
Special teams MVP: Joe Doyle
Look at Doyle’s punting average (41.1) and you might not be impressed. But yardage is just one element of punting.
Doyle was a wizard at lofting punts with a lot of hang time.
Tennessee allowed just 18 yards on punt returns all season, which ranked fourth nationally. Only eight of Doyle’s punts were returned. He pinned opponents inside the 20-yard line 23 times, compared to six touchbacks.
Best freshman: Bryce Thompson
Thompson joined Alontae Taylor to give Tennessee two freshman starting cornerbacks.
Thompson was named to the Pro Football Focus SEC defensive team of the week three times. He led the Vols with three interceptions and 10 passes defended. PFF rated Thompson as the highest-rated true freshman cornerback among those who played at least 190 snaps.
The former South Carolina commitment was a late addition to UT’s 2018 class, and he yielded a big reward.
Most improved: Alexis Johnson Jr.
Johnson was a four-star junior-college addition to Tennessee’s 2016 class. His Vols career got off to a rough start.
He was arrested for an incident with a woman before he ever stepped on the field . After a redshirt season, he was the No. 4 defensive tackle in UT’s rotation last season.
Everything came together for Johnson this season. He started every game and tied for fourth on the team with 51 tackles, including four sacks.
Best NFL prospect: Shy Tuttle
The 2019 NFL Draft likely will be a quiet one for the Vols, but expect some team to give Tuttle a shot. At 6-foot-3, 300 pounds, NFL teams will covet his size.
Injuries derailed Tuttle early in his career, but he enjoyed a healthy senior season and responded with a career-high 33 tackles.