Linebackers
Daniel: Not a great night for the linebackers overall. Jakob Johnson really struggled, again failing to get off blocks at times and getting burned for Vandy’s biggest pass play of the evening. Kenny Bynum, who also didn’t look great in limited snaps, had to take over for Johnson late in that game as the Vols tried to preserve the win. Jalen Reeves-Maybin was relatively quiet, though he had a big stop on Vandy’s second-to-last drive that forced the Commodores to punt from deep inside their own territory. Curt Maggitt got more snaps at LB with the Vols in the 4-3 more than normal and played well at that spot. He’s been huge for this defense in several ways Grade: C-
Houston: Another so-so night from this group, in my opinion. Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Jakob Johnson combined for just eight tackles and didn’t do a great job of covering tight ends or receivers across the middle of the field. The touchdown pass to Scheu was actually Jakob Johnson’s coverage responsibility and it wasn’t the only time that he was beaten on the night. They actually did a much nicer job in the second half, which led to a lot of incompletions and a couple sacks, so it wasn’t a total failure. Grade: C+
Reed: Jakob Johnson really, really struggled against the Commodores. He was beaten in pass coverage multiple times and failed to step up against Vandy’s ground attack. Playing without A.J. Johnson next year will be rough for the Vols. Jalen Reeves-Maybin hasn’t been as free to make plays without A.J. Johnson on the field, but he came up big on a 3rd and 1 stuff. Curt Maggitt was effective in his limited snaps at linebacker. Grade: C
Average Grade: C
