Receivers/Tight Ends
Daniel: Not a great day for this group overall. Josh Malone had several nice grabs, but also made a freshman mistake when he cut his route short on Worley’s third interception. Marquez North got away with a push off on a deep ball, got his hands on the ball and still couldn’t make the grab. One good sign is that Von Pearson is getting healthier and is being integrated more into the offense. He needs more touches going forward because he’s the best option they have to turn short completions into big plays. Quiet days overall for North, Pig Howard and Ethan Wolf – three players the Vols need to make big plays. Grade: C-
Houston: It was a better week for Tennessee’s receivers in this one when you consider the opponent, especially true freshman Josh Malone. Malone made two crucial mistakes that led to an incompletion and interception, but had five catches for 75 yards and looked like the only Vol receiver who consistently created separation in the secondary. Von Pearson looks to be very close to regaining his form, but never could shake loose in this one and Marquez North dropped the most accurate deep ball that Justin Worley has thrown all season. The tight ends had a combined two catches for 11 yards, so not a breakout game for that group, but with consistent quarterback play the passing game would not be as much of a problem for Tennessee. Grade: B-
Average Grade: C+
