Tennessee football got back in the win column Saturday afternoon, knocking off UAB 56-24 in its penultimate non conference matchup of the regular season. The Vols first team offense scored on seven of their first eight drives before coasting to the victory.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Syracuse 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 >
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Offensive Grades (minimum 14 plays — 20% of offensive plays)
RB Star Thomas — 86.6 (17 plays)
OT Bennett Warren — 76.8 (17 plays)
QB Joey Aguilar — 74.4 (56 plays)
WR Chris Brazzell — 74.4 (52 plays)
RB Peyton Lewis — 73.5 (25 plays)
RB DeSean Bishop — 71.4 (18 plays)
OT Brian Grant — 70.2 (17 plays)
QB Jake Merklinger — 69.9 (21 plays)
WR Mike Matthews — 68.9 (54 plays)
RG Wendell Moe — 63.3 (56 plays)
LT Lance Heard — 60.9 (56 plays)
WR Braylon Staley — 60.3 (42 plays)
C Sam Pendleton — 58.7 (41 plays)
TE Miles Kitselman — 58.5 (41 plays)
RT Jesse Perry — 58.4 (56 plays)
WR Joakim Dodson — 56.7 (21 plays)
WR Travis Smith Jr — 54.9 (17 plays)
LG Sham Umarov — 54.8 (56 plays)
WR Trey Weary — 54.7 (21 plays)
OG Max Anderson — 54.2 (21 plays)
TE Jack Van Dorselaer — 51.1 (33 plays)
OG Antoni Ogumoro — 50.2 (21 plays)
C William Satterwhite — 48.9 (36 plays)
Star Thomas led the way for Tennessee’s offensive grades in week four against UAB which was of little surprise. Thomas has been the Vols’ best back to this point in the season and he again looked the part against the Blazers, rushing for 81 yards and one touchdown.
But Thomas wasn’t the only running back to grade out well. The Vols three-headed monster in the backfield turned in three of Tennessee’s five highest offensive grades.
A bit surprisingly, three of Tennessee’s offensive backups earned solid grades. Offensive tackles Bennett Warren and Brian Grant as well as Jake Merklinger earned solid grades despite the Vols’ backup offense failing to score in four drives.
Defensive Grades (minimum 14 plays — 20% of offensive plays)
S Andre Turrentine — 80.1 (30 plays)
STAR Boo Carter — 78.6 (41 plays)
S Kaleb Beasley — 76.5 (42 plays)
LB Edwin Spillman — 74.9 (25 plays)
LEO Josh Josephs — 73.8 (24 plays)
LB Arion Carter — 73.0 (33 plays)
DT Nathan Robinson — 70.9 (18 plays)
DE Tyree Weathersby — 70.4 (17 plays)
CB Ty Redmond — 68.5 (41 plays)
S Sidney Walton — 67.8 (43 plays)
CB Colton Hood — 67.3 (42 plays)
DT Bryson Eason — 67.0 (20 plays)
DT Isaiah Campbell — 66.9 (29 plays)
S Edrees Farooq — 65.4 (29 plays)
DE Carson Gentle — 64.3 (23 plays)
DE Mariyon Dye — 63.1 (29 plays)
LEO Jordan Ross — 61.8 (16 plays)
LB Jeremiah Telander — 61.2 (22 plays)
STAR Jalen McMurray — 61.1 (23 plays)
LEO Caleb Herring — 60.9 (14 plays)
DT Dominic Bailey — 56.8 (20 plays)
LB Jadon Perlotte — 55.4 (14 plays)
CB Tre Poteat — 55.4 (22 plays)
DT Jamal Wallace — 53.0 (23 plays)
LB Jaedon Harmon — 44.2 (23 plays)
CB Tim Merritt — 44.1 (17 plays)
DT Ethan Utley — 41.3 (23 plays)
Boo Carter had a big special teams mistake, muffing a punt against UAB. But Carter was great defensively, turning in by far his best performance of the season. The nickel totaled a game-high nine tackles with three tackles for loss, a sack and two forced fumbles.
It was also a nice bounce back from Andre Turrentine who struggled a week ago against Georgia. He recorded Tennessee’s second highest overall grade and its highest defensive grade. Fellow safety Kaleb Beasley turned in a strong grade in a bounce back effort from the Vols’ safeties.
Not entirely surprising, but Tennessee’s defensive reserves did not grade out well int his one. The Vols six lowest graded defensive players were all third stringers and most were freshman. Josh Heupel said there would be stuff for that group to clean up and learn moving forward. The PFF grades agree.
