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Tennessee football’s top five performers in 56-0 win at Vanderbilt

By Caleb Calhoun

Nov 26, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright (20) runs for a first down during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright (20) runs for a first down during the first half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /
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Shutting out even the Vanderbilt Commodores a week after losing 63-38 to the South Carolina Gamecocks on the road requires surprise people to step up on defense. That was exactly the case for Tennessee football on Saturday, as they beat Vandy 56-0 on the road to close out the regular season with a 10-2 record.

UT didn’t have its usual star in Hendon Hooker, who is out for the season. Cedric Tillman and Bro McCoy were also out. With Joe Milton III in, they turned heavily to the run game and special teams. It worked to perfection, especially with the defense doing its job.

As we get set to take a look at the standout players from the game, all three phases were relevant in this one. Since it was a blowout, we’ll weigh more heavily what players did before the game broke open, but some were too elite to ignore no matter what. Here are the top five Vols from Tennessee football’s win at Vanderbilt.

These were the best Tennessee football players in the Volunteers’ victory over the Vandy Commodores.

Nov 26, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA;Tennessee Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright (20) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Vanderbilt Commodores safety Maxwell Worship (21) during the third quarter at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: George Walker IV – USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA;Tennessee Volunteers running back Jaylen Wright (20) runs into the end zone for a touchdown against Vanderbilt Commodores safety Maxwell Worship (21) during the third quarter at FirstBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: George Walker IV – USA TODAY Sports /

Jaylen Wright. 5. player. Pick Analysis. Running back. Sophomore. 839. Scouting Report

5 carries for 160 yards, 2 TDs

Obviously, the raw stats put Jaylen Wright above everybody. Gaining 160 yards on just five carries is insane.  Wright had touchdown runs of 50 and 83 yards, but even if you take those two out, he still would have had three carries for 27 yards. Simply put, Wright made a big play every time he touched the ball.

What keeps him down here, though, despite being UT’s leading rusher with just five carries, is when he made the big plays. Wright’s first touchdown run came with the Vols already up 28-0 in the game, and his second came with them already up 42-0. Simply put, it was already over.

This is why Dylan Sampson, who had 12 carries for 131 yards and a touchdown thanks to an 80-yard run, didn’t make the list. Tennessee football was up 49-0 when Sampson had that run. Wright was close in terms of the game bing in hand, but his stats were so insane, and it was early enough, that he made the list.

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