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Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols at South Carolina

By Caleb Calhoun

COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 27: Jauan Jennings #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers is called for a unsportsmanship penalty against Steven Montac #22 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 27: Jauan Jennings #15 of the Tennessee Volunteers is called for a unsportsmanship penalty against Steven Montac #22 of the South Carolina Gamecocks during their game at Williams-Brice Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images /

Special teams

Place-kicking: A-

Paxton Brooks’s kickoffs allowed three big returns, but one was due to an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and he made up for the other by pinning South Carolina inside the 20 one time. So his day was decent. Meanwhile, Brent Cimaglia once again nailed a 45-yarder, which is a huge deal. On top of that, he never missed an extra point. The combination is enough to give this unit an A-, and it was close to being better than that.

Punting: A+

What more can you ask for? Joe Doyle only punted twice, and both times, they landed inside the 20-yard line. On top of that, he averaged over 50 yards a punt with a long of 54. So it’s pretty clear that his day was perfect punting for Tennessee football, and it was more than enough for us to give him a perfect A+. Add in the fact that neither punt was returned, and Doyle is back on his game, continuing the Vols tradition of Punter U.

Return game: B-

Being unable to cover some kickoffs was a bit of an issue. On top of that, the Vols also managed only one punt return for seven yards. However, Ty Chandler did have a 27-yard kickoff return. So there were some positives. And by allowing no punt returns and stopping one return inside the 20, this was enough to be a solid day for the return game overall.

Overall special teams grade: A-

Tennessee football was great kicking the ball once again. That can’t go unnoticed. Sure, there were some mistakes in the return game at times, but South Carolina has a great kicking game as well. So the Vols’ loss can’t be pinned on this unit. In fact, you could question why it wasn’t used more. We’ll bring that up on our next slide.

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