Tennessee vanquished 15 years of demons Saturday evening, knocking off No. 3 Alabama, 52-49, as fans flooded onto Shield-Watkins Field.
The Vols’ offense was phenomenal in Tennessee’s first win over the Crimson Tide since 2006.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Ball State grades.
Let’s see how the Vols graded out.
Elite grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Replaceable = 60 >
Offensive Grades (minimum 21 plays — 30% of offensive plays)
WR Jalin Hyatt — 82.6 (75 plays)
QB Hendon Hooker — 81.7 (75 plays)
RB Jabari Small — 71.3 (44 plays)
RT Darnell Wright — 70.8 (76 plays)
TE Princeton Fant — 67.7 (34 plays)
TE Jacob Warren — 67.2 (43 plays)
WR Ramel Keyton — 67.0 (76 plays)
RB Jaylen Wright — 64.8 (32 plays)
LG Jerome Carvin — 61.6 (76 plays)
LT Gerald Mincey — 60.6 (38 plays)
WR Bru McCoy — 60.2 (76 plays)
LT Jeremiah Crawford — 55.6 (38 plays)
C Cooper Mays — 52.8 (76 plays)
RG Javontez Spraggins — 51.3 (76 plays)
While Jalin Hyatt was Tennessee’s highest graded offensive player, his grade is still low enough to expose some of the flaws in the PFF system. My grading every play individually and equally a 200 yard, five touchdown performance didn’t even earn an “All-Conference” grade.
Hendon Hooker threw his first interception of the season but was fantastic besides that. Was no surprise to see him near the top of Tennessee’s ranking.
Thought, as a collective, Tennessee’s offensive line played better than the grades indicated.
More From RTI: Tennessee’s Offensive Line Keeps Stepping Up
Defensive Grades (minimum 25 plays — 30% of defensive plays)
DB Wesley Walker — 72.8 (30 plays)
DE Roman Harrison — 72.2 (26 plays)
STAR Tomarion McDonald — 66.2 (68 plays)
LB Juwan Mitchell — 65.5 (68 plays)
CB Christian Charles — 64.5 (82 plays)
S Doneiko Slaughter — 60.0 (77 plays)
DE Tyler Baron — 58.8 (44 plays)
LB Jeremy Banks — 58.2 (54 plays)
DT Omari Thomas — 56.2 (36 plays)
LB Aaron Beasley — 55.9 (42 plays)
CB De’Shawn Rucker — 53.5 (57 plays)
DE Byron Young — 51.9 (73 plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 51.9 (26 plays)
S Trevon Flowers — 50.9 (88 plays)
DE Joshua Josephs — 50.0 (39 plays)
DT LaTrell Bumphus — 46.9 (59 plays)
Kudos to Wesley Walker for grading out as Tennessee’s best defender while playing both STAR and safety. The Georgia Tech transfer hadn’t played any safety up to this point in the season.
The Vols played an abundance of defensive backs due to the injuries across the board. Brandon Turnage also played 20 snaps and Dee Williams played 13 snaps.
Credit to Juwan Mitchell. The former Texas linebacker has struggled at times this season but graded out well while tallying four tackles and a pass break up.
