Tennessee football’s 2025 regular season is in the rearview mirror and the Vols are now turning to bowl prep where they will face Illinois in the Music City Bowl. After a promising start, the Vols’ 2025 season turned disappointing with Tennessee posting an 8-4 (4-4 SEC) record with losses against all four ranked opponents they faced.
So how did Tennessee grade out according to PFF as a team and as individuals? Taking a look at the Vols’ regular season PFF grades here.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Syracuse grades.
Let’s see how the Vols have graded out.
Elite grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Replaceable = 60 >
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Team Grades
Overall — 90.8
Offense — 84.4
Passing — 90.7
Pass Block — 75.0
Receiving — 78.1
Running — 90.9
Run block — 57.3
Defense — 88.1
Run defense — 86.4
Tackling — 70.9
Pass rush — 81.1
Coverage — 82.3
Special teams — 77.5
Offensive Grades (minimum 150 plays)
QB Joey Aguilar — 90.5 (838 plays)
RB DeSean Bishop — 83.9 (410 plays)
RB Star Thomas — 79.5 (239 plays)
WR Chris Brazzell — 78.2 (751 plays)
RB Peyton Lewis — 75.2 (164 plays)
OG Wendell Moe — 73.7 (689 plays)
WR Braylon Staley — 70.1 (696 plays)
LT Lance Heard — 67.4 (832 plays)
RT David Sanders — 67.2 (425 plays)
OT Jesse Perry — 66.4 (695 plays)
WR Mike Matthews — 66.0 (763 plays)
TE Ethan Davis — 65.9 (336 plays)
C Sam Pendleton — 63.4 (759 plays)
TE Miles Kitselman — 61.1 (530 plays)
LG Sham Umarov — 59.0 (730 plays)
TE Jack Van Dorselaer — 50.1 (180 plays)
Skill position players really carried the day for Tennessee. Joey Aguilar had a nice season and overachieved expectations, but I do not feel like he was Tennessee’s best offensive player. Chris Brazzell, DeSean Bishop and Braylon Staley all had better seasons, in my opinion.
It was a disappointing close to the season for the offensive line and the grades reflect that. Jesse Perry was awesome to start the season but it felt like he was never as good at guard as he was at tackle. It was a very encouraging freshman year for David Sanders, especially considering he battled injuries.
Even with Ethan Davis finishing the season strong, it was a disappointing season of grades for Tennessee’s tight ends. The Vols’ top three tight ends earned three of the five lowest grades this season according to PFF.
Defensive Grades (150 plays)
LEO Josh Josephs — 86.8 (365 plays)
CB Colton Hood — 82.7 (774 plays)
CB Ty Redmond — 77.7 (727 plays)
LEO Jordan Ross — 77.1 (216 plays)
LB Edwin Spillman — 76.7 (477 plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 73.6 (503 plays)
DE Tyre West — 72.4 (251 plays)
DE Tyree Weathersby — 71.1 (229 plays)
STAR Jalen McMurray — 71.0 (532 plays)
STAR/CB William Wright — 70.4 (166 plays)
DT Bryson Eason — 69.7 (461 plays)
S Edrees Farooq — 68.8 (677 plays)
LB Jadon Perlotte — 68.7 (158 plays)
STAR Boo Carter — 67.1 (239 plays)
S Kaleb Beasley — 66.5 (284 plays)
DT Nathan Robinson — 66.0 (276 plays)
LB Jeremiah Telander — 65.8 (474 plays)
DT Daevin Hobbs — 64.9 (219 plays)
DT Jaxson Moi — 62.9 (237 plays)
LB Arion Carter — 61.3 (477 plays)
LEO Caleb Herring — 59.7 (319 plays)
S Andre Turrentine — 59.1 (709 plays)
Credit to Ty Redmond for what he did during his freshman season. Injuries threw him right into the fire early and there were certainly some learning pains, but he played well as the season went on and turned in a strong season overall.
Overall, the PFF grades told us a story we already knew. Tennessee’s defense was terrible up the middle. A number of edge rushers, corners and a STAR (Jalen McMurray) had good seasons. But defensive tackle, inside linebacker and safety were major weak spots for Tennessee.
Also one final note, the tackling grades from Tennessee’s defense were really as bad as you’d imagine.
