The Tennessee Volunteers played against arguably their biggest rival, the Alabama Crimson Tide. This game took place on Saturday, as the Vols walked away with a big-time win over the Crimson Tide by a score of 26-10.
In this game, there were many players who graded fairly. PFF provided their grades, which is were first shared by RockyTopInsider.
Here is how every player graded, and how many snaps each player played from the game as well.
Offense - 72 Snaps
Player | Grade | Snap Count |
|---|---|---|
TK Keys | 80.4 | 10 |
DeSean Bishop | 79.6 | 56 |
Jesse Perry | 73.7 | 72 |
Mike Matthews | 70.6 | 69 |
George MacIntyre | 70.4 | 72 |
David Sanders Jr. | 67.3 | 57 |
Daune Morris | 62.9 | 10 |
Javin Gordon | 61.7 | 6 |
DaSaahn Brame | 61.0 | 38 |
Ed Baker | 60.0 | 1 |
Nathan Robinson (DL) | 60.0 | 2 |
Carson Gentle (DL) | 59.7 | 2 |
Nic Moore | 56.0 | 72 |
Sam Pendleton | 55.4 | 72 |
Donovan Haslam | 54.5 | 72 |
Radarious Jackson | 53.6 | 34 |
Braylon Staley | 52.7 | 70 |
Trent Thomas | 52.3 | 54 |
Ory Williams | 52.2 | 17 |
Luca Wolf | 51.8 | 6 |
Leading this week is someone who has arguably been the biggest breakthrough from this game, TK Keys. Keys is a former five-star wide receiver who has all the talent in the world, but hasn't had as much playing time as some may have liked originally. That hasn't stopped his growth.
He battled injuries throughout the offseason, and he has been limited due to this, so he has really made the most of his growth and is someone who has been getting more and more reps each week. One could only assume that he will be getting more reps later in the season.
This is something that George MacIntyre spoke about after his 70.4-graded performance, as he detailed that he was excited for Keys to make some big plays. Here is what he had to say.
"I couldn't be more proud of TK (Keys). I talked to him after the game. I told him that I am really proud of how he responded to everything. You know, he was working through injuries when he first got here, and he has earned the right to be out there in big moments, and tonight he showed that. We hit him twice, I think in the fourth quarter, yeah, the one on third down we talked about, and he has ice in his veins. The moment wasn't too big for him, especially on the slant route; it was a contested catch against man-to-man in tight coverage against a good player, and he came down with it, so, super proud of TK," MacIntyre said.
As for the remainder of the group, the biggest winner from this list is Jesse Perry, in my opinion. He finished the game playing every snap on the offensive line, and he also finished with the third-highest-graded performance on offense. As for someone the Vols would like to see more from, you'd have to imagine that Braylon Staley would be the pick. He is someone who has plenty of potential and is one of the better slot receivers in the SEC, but has yet to have a massive breakthrough this season.
Defense - 59 Snaps
Player | Grade | Snap Count |
|---|---|---|
Jeremiah Telander | 73.0 | 18 |
Edwin Spillman | 71.9 | 16 |
Dejuan Lane | 70.9 | 59 |
Ty Redmond | 69.3 | 59 |
Amare Campbell | 69.3 | 59 |
Qua Moss | 68.9 | 57 |
Xavier Gilliam | 67.6 | 44 |
JJ Finch | 66.6 | 14 |
Kayin Lee | 64.0 | 58 |
Nathan Robinson | 63.5 | 13 |
Arion Carter | 62.1 | 49 |
Mariyon Dye | 62.0 | 38 |
Ethan Utley | 60.2 | 4 |
Isaiah Campbell | 59.8 | 2 |
Carson Gentle | 59.2 | 7 |
TJ Metcalf | 57.7 | 59 |
Daevin Hobbs | 57.2 | 25 |
Tyree Weathersby | 56.7 | 42 |
Jordan Norman | 55.0 | 23 |
Tevis Metcalf | 40.9 | 3 |
On the defensive side of things, Jeremiah Telander was the star of the show from a graded standpoint. He finished the game with a 73.0 grade, which would make him the player with the fourth-best total grade. He has proven to be one of the better players on the defense, but didn't have as many snaps as some of the other linebackers.
That didn't stop him from facing some massive players, especially on the crucial downs. He was someone who caught the attention of the media, and someone that had the chance to speak with the media after the game. One of the things he discussed was his strip sack. Here is what he had to say about that.
"Yeah, it was awesome. We wanted to start fast and we did that for sure. First third down of the game, just go out there and make a play. Nothing better than that. Get the guys fired up. But it's a one-play mentality, one drive mentality, and keep doing that until there's 0 seconds on the clock." Telander said.
The biggest star from this list would be Dejuan Lane, as he played a ton of snaps and had an excellent grade while doing so. He continues to be a top player for the Vols and is only going to become more dangerous as the season goes on.
When it comes to someone that the Vols may want to see have a bigger game, Daevin Hobbs might be near the top of the list. He didn't grade well, didn't play as many snaps as they may have liked, but he wasn't bad by any means. He did have some key plays plugging the middle, and he is going to have a chance to do big things on this team.
Send your questions, comments, and hot takes to our email tennesseeonsi@gmail.com for the chance to be featured in an article!
Follow Our Social Media Accounts
• Follow Vols on SI on X (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Facebook (Click HERE)
• Follow Vols on SI on Instagram (Click HERE)
• Subscribe to Vols on SI on YouTube (Click HERE)
Sign up for our newsletter to have articles sent straight to your email daily HERE.
Add us as a preferred source on Google