Tennessee football: Vols stock report following Week Three of 2019

Stock up

Inside linebackers

Is there any debate about this one? This unit was getting better each week, and it exploded on Saturday with the return of its leader, Daniel Bituli, who had two tackles, a pass deflection and a quarterback hurry. Meanwhile, Shanon Reid led Tennessee football in tackles with seven, and Quavaris Crouch had three tackle and a pass deflection while J.J. Peterson also saw action.

But the two main stories were Henry To’oTo’o and Jeremy Banks. For the second straight week, To’oTo’o showed dramatic improvement. Even with just two tackles, a tackle for a loss and a pass deflection, he was always in the right position. Meanwhile, Banks proved, finally, that Jeremy Pruitt was right to convert him, as he had two interceptions. Simply put, this unit was superb.

Special teams

Yeah, nothing is changing here. The Vols’ kicking game is more than fine, with both Joe Doyle and Paxton Brooks going 55 yards or over on their one chance to punt each Saturday, Brent Cimaglia moving to eight-for-eight on the year with a 34-yard field goal, and kickoffs still being perfect. Cimaglia is UT’s biggest weapon there, but the whole unit was elite.

Where the major marked improvement occurred was in the return game. Ty Chandler had a 58-yard kickoff return to open the game and set the tone for the Vols, and then there was a blocked punt that Brandon Johnson ran into the end zone for a touchdown. The combination made this a complete special teams game, and this unit’s stock is flying high now.