Special teams
Place-kicking: A-
Brent Cimaglia nailed 10 of 13 field goals on the year, and he was 4-of-6 on kicks beyond 40 yards while also missing only one kick within 30 yards. So he kept the near-automatic short kicks that Aaron Medley had, and he added range. That’s significant, and his kicking helped win a game against the Auburn Tigers. Meanwhile, Paxton Brooks was reliable on kickoffs, and he perfectly executed 4-of-5 onside kicks, even if the hands team couldn’t recover. This was a solid unit overall that deserves respect.
Punting: B-
Joe Doyle didn’t show the consistent leg for this to be any better than just slightly above average. However, he showed he does have the power, and he was able to flip the field lots of times. There were few games in which he just played bad. By doing enough, we are willing to give the punt game overall an above average grade, and if he develops more consistency in his power, he could join Cimaglia in being a huge weapon. His early signs point to him continuing the Tennessee football tradition of Punter U.
Return game: B+
Marquez Callaway had a punt return touchdown, the Vols had a blocked punt for a touchdown, and they also blocked two other field goal attempts and an extra point. Meanwhile, Bryce Thompson an Ty Chandler broke off some big kickoff returns. The combination of all of those guys made this an A-worthy grade. However, the hands team failing to recover one onside kick on the year despite so many being perfectly executed drops this to a B+. Some of those could have changed one of the games, and it was a big deal. Jeremy Pruitt always called them at the perfect time, they just didn’t make the play.
Overall 2018 special teams grade: B+
Tennessee football did not fall to 5-7 because of special teams. They were strong on field goals and kickoffs, solid on punting, and good on returns. Sure, there were some issues, but they still did enough for these guys to win.