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Tennessee football vs. Aggies: 10 keys to the game

By Caleb Calhoun

Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith (73) takes the field ahead of a game between Tennessee and BYU at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, September 7, 2019.Utbyu0907
Tennessee offensive lineman Trey Smith (73) takes the field ahead of a game between Tennessee and BYU at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee on Saturday, September 7, 2019.Utbyu0907 /
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ARLINGTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 28: Kellen Mond #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ARLINGTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 28: Kellen Mond #11 of the Texas A&M Aggies during the Southwest Classic at AT&T Stadium on September 28, 2019 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

1. Kellen Mond in the pocket vs. horrendous Vols secondary

Building off the necessity to generate a pass rush, Tennessee football desperately has to find a way to keep Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Kellen Mond in the pocket. That’s essential to the Vols having any chance.

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Although Mond is much better in the pocket than he was in previous years, he is still at his best when he’s able to roll out. His mobility speaks for itself, as he nearly has 200 yards rushing on the year and two touchdowns. A guy like that usually gets sacked a lot, but as we already mentioned, Mond is the least sacked quarterback in the league.

When he’s forced to throw from the pocket, though, he’s a bit more vulnerable. Jeremy Pruitt and Derrick Ansley are pretty good at designing plays to make things like that happen, so then comes the next question. How will UT’s secondary, which has struggled all year, perform against Mond when he’s missing on throws from the pocket.

Obviously, Bryce Thompson had a pick-six last week, and Jaylen McCollough played his best game, but this unit still struggled. Ken Seals had 239 yards and two touchdowns through the air. There’s no reason to believe that Mond can’t torch them from the pocket. If the secondary takes a step forward, though, the improvement could look very dramatic.

That would do enough to keep the Vols in the game for some period of time. Mond has completed 61.1 percent of his passes for 1,769 yards, 18 touchdowns and just two interceptions on the year and is averaging seven and a half yards an attempt. Efficiency is the name of his game.

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Depending on whether or not he’s in the pocket Saturday, though, and how Tennessee football’s secondary plays, he could go for huge numbers. That should scare everybody on Rocky Top, and Pruitt and Ansley have to figure out how to not let that happen.

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