Tennessee football stock report following Week 5 of 2020
Stock up
Running game
Yes, this is the obvious one. Tennessee football rushed for 230 yards on 51 carries this past weekend and had four total touchdowns. As of right now, the Vols are second in the SEC with 365 total rushing yards as a team on the year, and they’re also second with six rushing touchdowns. Three of them are by quarterback Jarrett Guarantano, all on quarterback sneaks.
In fact, the Vols converted all four fourth down attempts over the weekend with QB sneaks, and Jim Chaney called two more throughout the day. All of them worked. The addition of Cade Mays has had a huge impact. Now, UT has four five-star offensive linemen starting, and the one who wasn’t Brandon Kennedy, is a sixth-year senior. So they’re loaded, and this isn’t going anywhere.
Outside linebackers
After two and a half sacks in the opener against the South Carolina Gamecocks, Deandre Johnson came through again with a sack against the Missouri Tigers. That was a key third down sack that forced Mizzou to settle for a field goal on one drive, and Johnson now leads the SEC in sacks. He’s doing a good job replacing Darrell Taylor right now. However, Johnson isn’t the only one.
Kivon Bennett isn’t racking up the stats, but he’s playing great on the other side. Analytics show he’s being dominant. With three total tackles and a hurry, Bennett was named to the PFF Team of the Week on Saturday, and he has an 83.7 grade so far while grading second nationally in pass rush situations. Even with just half a sack, he is just as dangerous as Johnson right now.