Tennessee football Smokey points: Top five Vols performers vs. Chattanooga

When it comes to Henry To’oTo’o, it’s more about his development than his stats. Tennessee football significantly struggled to put away the Georgia State Panthers specifically due to their ability to contain Dan Ellington. That was due to To’oTo’o’s struggles as a true freshman calling the plays in the opener, having to do it in place of Daniel Bituli.

One week later, though, he showed dramatic improvement against the BYU Cougars. In fact, the improvement was dramatic to the point that it became clear he could become a very good player for the Vols. That was all before Bituli was set to return, which happened on Saturday against the Chattanooga Mocs.

And in that game, To’oTo’o exploded onto the scene. Now, his stats didn’t show it. To’oTo’o only had two tackles. But he did have one tackle for a loss, and he also had a pass defended. So he showed the agility and versatility that is necessary to be an elite inside linebacker in Jeremy Pruitt’s 3-4 defensive system.

Going forward, To’oTo’o has shown that he can turn into an elite linebacker, and he clearly should be the starter. It wasn’t just the stats in this game. He managed to be in on lots of plays and proved his ability to make tackles in open space. That’s why he made the list.