Tennessee football’s top five performers in 38-33 win vs. Florida
Defensive lineman. Omari Thomas. 3. player. 839. Scouting Report. Pick Analysis. Junior
5 tackles (3 solo); 1 PD; 2 QB hurries; 1 FF
Byron Young will get credit for four hurries. Da’Jon Terry had a sack, Elijah Simmons got a nice push on a play, and LaTrell Bumphus had a tackle for a loss. We already mentioned Roman Harrison stopping a fourth down play. Tyler Baron had a quarterback hurry, and Joshua Josephs had two.
We say all this to defend Tennessee football’s defensive line in this game. They’ll be criticized for not bringing even more pressure, but the fact is the main goal was to keep Anthony Richardson from using his legs. It’s not their fault the secondary played awful, particularly the cornerbacks.
The main catalyst of the unit, though, was Omari Thomas. Lined up against the best interior blocker in the country, O’Cyrus Torrence, Thomas found a way to make plays. It’s in credible that he was tied for third on the team in tackles and solo tackles. His hurries and pass deflection, which he’s gotten great at, also speak for themselves.
However, Thomas also made the defensive play of the game. The fumble that Jeremy Banks recovered late was because of an epic decision by Thomas. Richardson ran right on a designed rollout. Thomas used his leverage to that side to force Richardson back in. When he did, he stripped the ball from Richardson.
It can’t be overstated how big of a play that was. At the time, the Vols were up 31-21, but they were going to have to keep scoring to win. Florida had driven down to the UT 13-yard line, and it was 1st and 10 early in the fourth. Forcing this fumble allowed the Vols to take control.