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Tennessee football: Vols stock report following week 1 of 2018

By Caleb Calhoun

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: The defense of the Tennessee Volunteers watch as David Sills V #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers drops a pass in the endzone during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 01: The defense of the Tennessee Volunteers watch as David Sills V #13 of the West Virginia Mountaineers drops a pass in the endzone during their game at Bank of America Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images
Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

Stock up

Defensive tackles

Alexis Johnson and Shy Tuttle were among the bright spots of the defense. To be fair, they didn’t get the push that the coaches were likely hoping for throughout the game. But Tennessee football does not have the size necessary yet to properly run Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 defense. So these guys just did what they could.

And what they could do was make big plays when they had to. Tuttle was second on the team with four tackles, and he also got a sack. Johnson added a tackle for a loss and two hurries. And Paul Bain came in and had a fumble recovery. So although they couldn’t get a major push up front, they made quite a few plays to change the game. That’s enough to raise their stock here.

Vols backfield

This unit as a whole was solid for Tennessee football. Jarrett Guarantano completed 76 percent of his passes for a touchdown and no interceptions. He did everything he could to win the game for the Vols and avoided mistakes as much as possible. Even if Keller Chryst sees some real action this weekend, Guarantano’s play was worthy of mention.

Then came Tim Jordan at running back. The power backs in Madre London and Jeremy Banks couldn’t get anything going. Ty Chandler got hurt. So Jordan came in and had over five and a half yards a carry, rushing for nearly 120 yards and a touchdown. His vision and agility were something to behold. So Jordan and Guarantano together make for great stock right now.

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