Tennessee football report card: Grading the Vols in 60-14 win vs. South Alabama

It’s usually hard to grade just how well a team performed when it blew out a Group of Five foe that’s below .500, but even by those standards, Tennessee football put on a show Saturday. The Vols had one of their most complete performances of the year as they beat the South Alabama Jaguars 60-14. There is plenty to celebrate about that win given how they played.

Offensive weapons made a name for themselves across the board, particularly the skill players. The defense, however, generated its own big plays and was dominant throughout the night, and there were two scores on special teams. Simply put, Rocky Top was loaded with elite production. It’s safe to say they looked like what Josh Heupel was hired to make them look like.

Which units stood out the most, though? Were there any weaknesses? Well, that’s what will be broken down here. In our usual report card, we’ll have the first two slides be offensive units, the third be defensive units, the fourth be special teams and the fifth be coaching. These are our grades for Tennessee football against South Alabama.

Offensive grades part I

Quarterbacks: A

Is there anything negative we could say about Hendon Hooker? The guy completed 17-of-20 passes for 273 yards, averaging nearly 14 yards an attempt. He also ran for 21 yards and had three total touchdowns. Beyond Hooker, though, Joe Milton III completed 5-of-7 passes, and even Gaston Moore completed both passes, so they were efficient all night.

Running backs: A

Just like the quarterbacks, Tennessee football’s running backs were elite all night as well. Three different backs had at least 60 yards rushing while averaging at least six yards a carry. Jaylen Wright had 13 carries for 83 yards and a touchdown, Jabari Small had 11 carries for 73 yards and two touchdowns, and Len’Neth Whitehead had six carries for 60 yards and a touchdown.