Tennessee Has Multiple Players Leading the SEC in Stat Categories

Through the first five weeks of the season, multiple Tennessee players are leading the SEC in key individual statistics. Now, in fairness, it’s not a perfectly even playing field. Tennessee has played five games while a handful of teams such as Alabama, Georgia, and Texas A&M have only played four games. Still, though, Tennessee’s players are dominating in a few categories.

More From RTI: Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar Heisman Odds Take Dip After Mississippi State Win

Here’s a look at which Tennessee football players are leading individual stat categories through the first five weeks of the SEC slate, along with a quick write-up on each one beneath:

SEC Passing Yards

1. Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar – 1,459 yards (5 games)
2. Arkansas QB Taylen Green – 1,398 yards (5 games)
3. Oklahoma QB John Mateer – 1,215 yards (4 games)
4. Vanderbilt QB Diego Pavia – 1,211 yards (5 games)
5. Missouri QB Beau Pribula – 1,203 yards (5 games)

Tennessee’s Joey Aguilar leads all SEC players in passing yards through the first five weeks of the season. Out of the top five leaders, only Oklahoma’s John Mateer has played four games with the Sooners on a bye week last weekend. Mateer will soon fall off the list as he misses some time due to injury. Back to Aguilar, though, it lines up with Tennessee leading the SEC in passing and scoring as an overall offense. Aguilar hasn’t been perfect, but he continues to operate the Vols’ tempo offense with aggression and poise. An even-keeled mentality also helps Aguilar’s stats. His two biggest passing games of the season have been against SEC opponents in Georgia (371 yards) and Mississippi State (335 yards). If Tennessee’s receivers hadn’t dropped a few big passes this season, he’d be leading by an even bigger margin. Aguilar is tied with Vandy QB Diego Pavia for a conference-leading 13 passing touchdowns on the season.

SEC Receiving Yards

1. Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell – 531 yards (5 games)
2. Texas A&M WR Mario Craver – 477 yards (4 games)
3. Arkansas WR O’Mega Blake – 399 yards (5 games)
4. Missouri WR Kevin Coleman Jr. – 386 yards (5 games)
5. Tennessee WR Mike Matthews – 370 yards (5 games)

Tennessee has two receivers in the top five receiving leaders in the SEC, which matches up with Aguilar’s lead in passing yards. Give credit to Mike Matthews, who, in fairness, should have a good chunk more in his yardage category with a few drops, but all eyes have been on breakout star Chris Brazzell. We’ll talk about his touchdowns in the next paragraph, but what we’ll say here is that his deep threat ability has been huge for Tennessee in rediscovering its identity in explosive plays. At 6-foot-5, he’s proven to be a “screw it, Brazzell down there somewhere” type of guy.

SEC Receiving Touchdowns

1. Tennessee WR Chris Brazzell – 7 TDs (5 games)
2. Vanderbilt WR Junior Sherrill – 5 TDs (5 games)
3. Alabama WR Germie Bernard – 4 TDs (4 games)
4. Missouri WR Brett Norfleet – 4 TDs (5 games)
5. Texas A&M WR Mario Craver – 4 TDs (4 games)

Yards are one thing, but touchdowns are another. It’s clear that Miles Kitselman is one of Aguilar’s big targets in short-yardage situations, but Brazzell is clearly a standout when Tennessee is looking for the endzone. Tennessee’s scheme has been able to put Brazzell in a position to succeed, and he’s taken advantage of it. Brazzell looks comfortable and confident, and it’s turning into tangible points for the Volunteers’ offense.

SEC Kicking Points 

1. Tennessee K Max Gilbert – 54 points (5 games)
2. Ole Miss K Lucas Carneiro – 52 points (5 games)
3. Vanderbilt K Brock Taylor – 44 points (5 games)
4. Mississippi State K Kyle Ferrie – 41 points (5 games)
5. LSU K Damien Ramos – 39 points (5 games)

Gilbert’s SEC-leading 54 kicking points are clearly a direct tie to Tennessee’s SEC-leading scoring margin. Gilbert is a perfect 30-for-30 on extra points, which is the most in the SEC. Vanderbilt’s Brock Taylor also has 30 attempts, but he has one fewer make at 29. Gilbert is 8-of-10 in his field goal attempts this year, with both misses coming in SEC play. The obvious miss that stands out was in the Georgia game. Regardless, Gilbert’s eight makes are tied for second in the SEC behind only Ole Miss’s Lucas Carneiro, who has made 11 of his 12 attempts. Gilbert is also tied for the fourth-longest FG make at 53 yards.

SEC Defensive Tackles

1. Tennessee LB Arion Carter – 44 tackles (5 games)
2. Arkansas LB Xavian Sorey Jr. – 34 tackles (5 games)
3. Arkansas LB Stephen Dix Jr. – 33 tackles (5 games)
4. Kentucky LB Alex Afari Jr – 31 tackles (4 games)
5. Georgia LB CJ Allen – 30 tackles (4 games)

Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter has been a machine this season. Now, in fairness, the tackling stats differ depending on what site you look at. For all the stats used today, we’ve been using Fox Sports’ metrics for the sake of continuity. The SEC’s official site actually has Carter leading by a higher margin at 49 total tackles compared to 31 from Alex Afari Jr., who is next in line at 31. That’s a whopping +18 lead for Carter. He’s been a machine this season, and a lot of that is due to his getting involved in gang tackling. According to the SEC, Carter has 17 solo tackles and 32 assisted tackles. When there’s a Tennessee player not in the No. 7 jersey making a tackle, the guy in the No. 7 jersey is typically on his horse to join the party. Carter’s stats do benefit from the fact that Tennessee’s defense has been on the field a good bit this season, but it doesn’t diminish his stats. Carter’s two biggest games this season have come in SEC play, with a previous career-high 14 against Georgia and a new career-high 17 against Mississippi State. Those are monster numbers.

Other Numbers of Note

As a team, Tennessee leads the SEC in total offense (51 PPG), passing offense (337.2 YPG), kicking points (57 points), and sacks (19.0).