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Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in loss to Georgia State

By Caleb Calhoun

KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: J.T. Shrout #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up before facing the Georgia State Panthers during the season opener at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE - AUGUST 31: J.T. Shrout #12 of the Tennessee Volunteers warms up before facing the Georgia State Panthers during the season opener at Neyland Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Knoxville, Tennessee. (Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images)
Photo by Silas Walker/Getty Images) /

Offense

Quarterbacks: C

Jarrett Guarantano threw for over 300 yards and two touchdowns. But lots of those yards and that final touchdown were in what was basically garbage time, with Tennessee football already down 38-23 and less than a minute to go. Still, Guarantano’s play wasn’t the problem in this game. He wasn’t great, as he had a fumble and an interception. But the fumble was because of a corner blitz nobody picked up. And the interception was after people other than him spotted GSU a 35-23 lead. So he wasn’t great, but he wasn’t the problem.

Running backs: D

Ty Chandler averaged eight yards a carry and had a touchdown. But he also had two fumbles, and the first one set up the first Georgia State touchdown to spot them a 7-0 lead. Eric Gray, meanwhile, showed his shiftiness with seven carries for 29 yards. His pass-blocking, however, was horrendous and a big reason Guarantano was under constant pressure. Then Tim Jordan averaged less than two and a half yards a carry. So against a 2-10 Sun Belt defense, the Vols’ running backs were horrendous altogether. They should’ve had over 200 yards, even with no offensive line.

Wide receivers/Tight ends: B+

Jauan Jennings had over 100 yards and a touchdown, Marquez Callaway had nearly 50 yards and a touchdown, and Dominick Wood-Anderson had 79 yards. This unit did what it was supposed to do. It didn’t blow anybody away with its elite play, but against a Georgia State defense that should have been easy to torch, it didn’t let down.

Offensive line: F

Well, it looks like the offensive line was no better. Interior blocking was once again horrendous, failing to block to allow UT to convert a 3rd and 1 in the first half that could have put them in further control of the game. And it also allowed four sacks. Moving Wanya Morris inside to guard at times was questionable, and the unit as a whole was clearly out of rhythm. It looked as bad as it did last year.

Overall offensive grade: D

What else can you say about a unit that only scored 23 points against a 2-10 Sun Belt team? Red zone offense was horrible, the running game was horrible, and Guarantano was under constant pressure. Tennessee football clearly has a ton of work to do.

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