Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in loss to Georgia State
Coaching
Offensive play-calling: D
Jim Chaney was somewhat limited because of how awful the blocking was. But the plays were far too slow developing when you consider that they had such an issue. And he was simply not creative enough to overcome it.
On top of that, Tennessee football didn’t do enough to give the ball to its playmakers, nor did it have the right guys in there. Despite his fumbles, Ty Chandler should’ve still gotten more touches. Eric Gray never should have been in there on pass protection. Chaney had a bad return debut.
Defensive play-calling: D
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In his debut as a full-time defensive coordinator, Derrick Ansley coached a horrific unit. The play of it overall combined with the inability to stop that Georgia State Panthers option offense is why he gets a D. Shawn Elliott was lightyears ahead of Ansley and Jeremy Pruitt, who you have assume was still involved in calling plays for the defense.
This could have been an F, but the reason we made it a D is, similar to Chaney on the other side, the defense was limited because of how bad the line played. And there were clearly interior issues that nobody calling pays could overcome. Still, Ansley could have been much better, so he can’t be let off the hook.
Overall coaching grade: F
Part of coaching is play-calling. That’s a clear D. The other part is getting your guys ready to play. Jeremy Pruitt failed miserably on that front. The Vols were not motivated at all. On clear in-game decisions, he also failed. This includes not going for it on 4th and 1 in the second quarter, only to allow a game-tying touchdown after GSU converted a 4th down on the very next drive.
Next. Vols 10 worst upset losses in school history. dark
Tennessee football had a ton of issues in this game, and coaching was a big part of it. This is not a reason to overreact, but you can’t ignore the failures that came from this game. As a result, Pruitt gets a failing grade, as these issues start with him.