Tennessee Football Report Card: Grading the Vols vs Appalachian State
Defensive Grades
Defensive Line: C
The Tennessee football defensive line play against the Appalachian State Mountaineers was a mixed bag. The Vols were fine at end, particularly with Derek Barnett and Corey Vereen getting pressure.
Meanwhile, Kendal Vickers was a playmaker in the middle. However, this unit was overall mediocre. They constantly got fooled on misdirection plays, and they constantly had trouble stopping Marcus Cox and Taylor Lamb. Sure, they made some nice plays, but Bob Shoop didn’t earn his money here. That’s why we give this unit a C.
Linebackers: D-
Tennessee football gets a bit of a break here. We already knew they were thin at linebacker. Jalen Reeves-Maybin’s ejection only made that worse.
Still, there’s no way around this. The Vols struggled all night here, getting fooled worse than the defensive line on running plays. Darrin Kirkland Jr. only had nine tackles, along with Reeves-Mabin’s replacement in Cortez McDowell. However, neither did anything of significance.
Secondary: B
Most defensive secondaries would kill for a stat line in any game that includes holding a team to 108 yards and forcing an interception.
Such was the case for the Vols against Taylor Lamb.
However, even with the Cameron Sutton interception, the Vols made plenty of mistakes here. They blew a coverage in the flats to allow a huge touchdown. And they always allowed key plays that kept the Mountaineers on the field.
This unit is still good, and it was good in this game. But it could have been better.
Overall Defensive Grade: C
This could be considered unfair considering the fact that the Appalachian State Mountaineers were held to just two scores and one was off a turnover.
But they still drove into Tennessee territory three other times, and they had complete control of the clock. Because of the failures mostly at linebacker, Scott Satterfield could control the tempo of the game. It almost cost the Vols.
Therefore, this unit gets a C.
Next: Special Teams