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Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in their loss to Florida

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Offensive lineman Marcus Tatum #68 of the Tennessee Volunteers guards Zachary Carter #17 of the Florida Gators during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 22: Offensive lineman Marcus Tatum #68 of the Tennessee Volunteers guards Zachary Carter #17 of the Florida Gators during the game between the Florida Gators and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Florida won the game 47-21. (Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Donald Page/Getty Images /

Defense

Defensive line: B-

People are going to slam the defensive line because it went away largely in the second half. And there is indeed some truth to that. But these guys did set the tone for the Vols early, as Alexis Johnson had a sack and Shy Tuttle made a huge play for the Vols on the opening drive. It was Kyle Phillips who then recovered the first turnover to set up UT’s first points. So the D-line only went away after constant futility on the offense. That’s why we’re giving this unit a break.

Linebackers: C

Tennessee football needed more help from its linebackers. The unit did not do well on running plays when it came to pushing rushers back, they got beat just enough on some passing plays, and they were just unspectacular all day. To be fair, they didn’t really stand out in a bad way either, which is why we give this unit a C and not something worse.

Defensive backs: C

The Vols were actually terrible at defending the pass when it mattered most, which is why they should get a lower grade here. However, Alontae Taylor made enough specific plays to bring the grade up to a C, even if it wasn’t warranted. Taylor kept the Vols in the game in the first half. But a touchdown pass given up to Feleipe Franks in the second half knocked them out of the game for good. So the Secondary still has tons of work to do.

Overall defensive grade: C+

The defense mentally gave up on some drives after all the turnovers, but they largely kept fighting. There were just too many mistakes overall, though, to give these guys anything in the B or A range over the weekend.

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