Offensive Line
Daniel: Jalen Hurd’s long runs late saved this group from an “F.” Make no mistake though, this group got dominated, especially in pass blocking. Giving up five sacks is unacceptable and it really should’ve been more after an OU penalty wiped one out. It was a tough task – nobody is denying that. Starting two true freshmen on the right side put them in a difficult situation – but the coaching staff doesn’t have a ton of options at this point. If you’re looking for the bright side, they kept grinding in the run game and ended up with over 100 yards on the ground. That’s something they can build on. But we knew it would be a tough road for this unit and Saturday night confirmed that. Grade: D
Houston: Not much to hang their hat on in this one for the offensive line. If not for two long Jalen Hurd runs in the second half, as Daniel said, this one is beyond a complete disaster. Early in the week, the RTI crew set the over/under on sacks given up this game at six and the rushing yardage over/under at 100, and while the Vols ended up on the better half of each set this one just went wrong for the offensive line from the word go. Justin Worley was hit hard at every opportunity, forced to throw early to his receivers and forced out of the pocket on nearly every attempt. I think I saw a stat that said he was hit, HIT, on 40-percent of his pass attempts. That cannot happen moving forward. Grade: F
Reed: What a miserable outing for the Vol offensive line. Worley was sacked or pressured on nearly half of his drop backs and was fortunate to make it through the entire game. The Vols had negative yards rushing headed into the fourth quarter before finding their stride a bit. They were outmatched in all phases of the game for most of the night by an OU front seven which featured numerous future NFL players. If they had been more serviceable, the Vols would have had a shot. They’ve got to get better in the coming weeks or Worley won’t make it through the next two games. Grade: F
