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

You could really credit the entire Tennessee football front seven, especially the defensive line. But Kyle Phillips finally reached his five-star potential that he had as a freshman in 2015. The senior was one of the star defenders of the game.

Phillips led the team in tackles with nine. He also had half a sack. But the key standout play was the one that put the Vols in complete control of the game. Up 20-17, he was in on the strip-sack on Jarrett Stidham in the third quarter that Alontae Taylor recovered in the end zone for a touchdown.

That was clearly the play of the game that put UT in control. And Phillips deserves a ton of credit for that. We said before the game that he would need to take advantage of Auburn’s issues on the offensive line and Jarrett Stidham’s lack of mobility for the Vols to have any chance in this game.

Well, Phillips did just that. His stat line, in addition to the tackles, shows half a sack and a forced fumble. But he managed to be effective throughout the day, and that’s why we were able to name him as one of the top performers in the game.