Tennessee football bounced back from its second loss of the 2025 season by dominating Kentucky 56-23 on Saturday night at Kroger Field. The Vols turned in their best offensive performance of the season and forced a pair of turnovers to help minimize an overall poor defensive performance.
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 12 plays — 20% of offensive plays)
QB Joey Aguilar — 91.3 (61 plays)
WR Chris Brazzell — 78.0 (41 plays)
RB Star Thomas — 76.7 (20 plays)
WR Mike Matthews — 72.8 (50 plays)
TE Ethan Davis — 70.7 (22 plays)
WR Braylon Staley — 69.0 (47 plays)
WR Radarious Jackson — 66.2 (20 plays)
RT David Sanders Jr. — 66.0 (51 plays)
LT Lance Heard — 65.8 (61 plays)
TE Miles Kitselman — 63.1 (44 plays)
LG Sham Umarov — 62.5 (22 plays)
OG Wendell Moe Jr. — 61.9 (61 plays)
C Sam Pendleton — 61.6 (46 plays)
RT/RG Jesse Perry — 61.0 (49 plays)
RB DeSean Bishop — 60.3 (32 plays)
C William Satterwhite — 59.9 (15 plays)
TE Jack Van Doreselaer — 49.3 (15 plays)
Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar was dominant against Kentucky. He was incredibly accurate throwing the football down the field and completed 20-of-26 passes for 396 yards. His grade represented that that dominant performance.
David Sanders continues to play better-and-better football after returning form injury and making his collegiate debut. He earned Tennessee’s top offensive line grade for the second straight week.
All three of Tennessee’s starting receivers totaled over 100 yards against Kentucky. They graded out as three of Tennessee’s top six offensive players along with Aguilar.
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Defensive Grades (minimum 15 plays — 20% of defensive plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 75.5 (40 plays)
S Edrees Farooq — 74.9 (65 plays)
CB Colton Hood — 74.3 (46 plays)
LB Jadon Perlotte — 74.1 (40 plays)
LB Edwin Spillman — 71.5 (70 plays)
LB Jeremiah Telander — 65.1 (49 plays)
CB William Wright — 65.0 (37 plays)
LE Jordan Ross — 64.0 (32 plays)
LEO Josh Josephs — 63.7 (39 plays)
CB Ty Redmond — 73.6 (69 plays)
DT Bryson Eason — 63.1 (33 plays)
DE Tyre West — 62.9 (21 plays)
DT Daevin Hobbs — 62.6 (31 plays)
STAR Jalen McMurray — 62.4 (51 plays)
S Kaleb Beasley — 62.3 (35 plays)
DT Jaxson Moi — 62.1 (37 plays)
DE Tyree Weathersby — 61.3 (24 plays)
DT Nathan Robinson — 60.4 (31 plays)
S Andre Turrentine — 59.4 (46 plays)
STAR Boo Carter — 42.4 (21 plays)
S Sidney Walton — 39.7 (16 plays)
LEO Caleb Herring — 39.3 (21 plays)
Dominic Bailey was Tennessee’s highest graded defensive player against Kentucky but the rest of the Vols’ defensive line struggled. No one other Tennessee defensive lineman posted a grade over 63.7.
The tackling grades were pretty brutal for Tennessee. Josephs, Redmond, Walton and Herring all posted tackling grades south of 35.
With Arion Carter sidelined, Jadon Perlotte earned the highest number of the snaps that he’s played this season. The freshman turned in a strong performance by earning a 74.1 grade.
