Tennessee football Orange and White game report card
The nature of any spring game is that where one unit succeeds, it means another unit failed. Tennessee football‘s first Orange and White game under new head coach Josh Heupel took that to a completely different and extreme level. Because of those extremes, us giving out our grades was actually pretty easy.
However, we don’t know if this is a sign of positivity on one side or a sign of concern on the other. Truth be told, it could go either way, especially since not everybody who will be on the roster was in the game. As we get set to dish out our grades, we’ll analyze the units as a whole, how they looked on both teams.
Honestly, lots of it was the same in the Orange’s 42-37 win anyway, so let’s dive in. Just like we do in games, we’ll grade offense, defense, special teams and coaching with the specific units on each one. Offense will take up two pages, so here is our report card for Tennessee football from their spring game.
Offensive grades part I
Quarterbacks: A-
Six different quarterbacks saw the field in this game. Hendon Hooker, Brian Maurer and Harrison Bailey played for both teams, but Spencer Smith also threw three passes for the White. The three main one each threw a TD pass.
Altogether, they completed 34-of-47 passes for 573 yards and four touchdowns, and they ran for 62 yards and another TD. Bailey was the best, but they all were great outside of one pick-six from Hooker. Still, Hooker had the rushing TD, so he had two, while Maurer only had one.
Running backs: B
Honestly, the game tape showed the Vols’ offensive line was blocking well, and Jabari Small did have two touchdowns while Jaylen Wright had one. However, as a whole, the group was above average but not mind-blowing.
They had 40 carries for 195 yards, averaging just under five yards a carry with eight different players touching the ball. Small had 12 carries for 48 yards, and Wright had five carries for 19 yards. This unit will probably get better when Tiyon Evans, who only had one carry, gets fully healthy. He could become Tennessee football’s feature back.