Tennessee football Smokey Points: Top 5 Vols performers in win at Auburn

Tennessee football had great performances from multiple key players as they beat the Auburn Tigers. Here are the five Volunteers who earned helmet stickers.

For the first time all season, we actually had a hard time trimming down the list of Tennessee football players who deserved to earn Smokey Points. In every game through their 2-3 start, it was the exact opposite.

We had to reach to find Vols who stepped up at times. But on Saturday, the opposite rang true. There were legitimately 10 to 15 guys who all played great and deserved recognition. But, as always, we can only recognize the top guys.

So as we get set to bring you our Tennessee football helmet stickers from Saturday’s win over the Auburn Tigers, know that there are numerous other guys who belong on this list and just didn’t make the cut. You could not ask for more of a team win.

The defensive line never failed to get pressure, secondary fought as hard as it could, and the passing game was beautiful. There were tons of people who put in the effort to make sure that happened as well.

Sure, there were still some issues. And they definitely need to be addressed over time because the schedule is not getting any easier. However, even with those issues, so many players stepped up to make this win happen.

And it leads to a lot of excitement about the future. Jeremy Pruitt’s system is really starting to take shape, and his guys really showed that Saturday afternoon. So these Smokey Points are ones that we are not giving out lightly.

They were beyond earned. And thanks to them, expectations have been reset a bit for the Vols, who are now 3-3. Let’s go ahead and take a look at the winners. These are the top Tennessee football performers in the Vols’ 30-24 win over the Auburn Tigers on the road Saturday.