IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTT’SSSSSSSSSSSSSS MONDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And you fine Tennessee Vols-loving folks now just what that means. Let’s grab those rifles, yell pull, and blast those orange and white Tennessee Vols-related nuggets of thought launched straight from the recess of my brain.
1) Nico Iamaleava is every bit as good as it gets for a first-year starter. I cannot believe the level of accuracy that a guy making his third career start showed.
Yes, yes, it was UTC. Yes, the athletes aren’t that good. However, windows are windows, and Nico was throwing into space with anticipation as to where his receivers would be, and the ball was right where it needed to be almost every time. Former Georgia QB Aaron Murray was marveling over his ball placement during his film breakdown on Sunday.
Check out the video at the 6:30 mark. The film breakdown and commentary of Nico’s completion to Chris Brazzell II on a dagger route over the middle.
Anyways, just an incredible first-ever Neyland Stadium start for Nico. The sky indeed appears to be the limit for him, even though it was just against Chattanooga as many continue to point out.
2) Staying on the offensive side of the ball, I thought the O-line played well. Physical at the point of the attack in the run game and kept Nico clean all game. Again, yes, I hear you pounding away on your keyboards. It was UTC. Stop. I know. We’ll find out more on Saturday against a solid NC State defense.
Still, 46 carries, 304 yards on the ground. The starters allowed just one sack in protection. That’s pretty darned good regardless of opponent.
3) Tennessee went five deep running the ball, and man, what a group Josh Heupel has to work with. The number of options Heupel has this year at his disposal will be pretty remarkable. Dylan Sampson spearheads the group, and he reminded everyone why on Saturday. However, Cam Seldon and Khalifa Keith can call down the thunder from off the bench. They you add Peyton Lewis’ speed and DeSean Bishop’s quickness, and you’ve got a whole lot of skills that Heupel can pick and choose to dispatch across his game plan. Very, very encouraged by this group.
4) I wrote about it on Sunday, but how great was it seeing Bru McCoy and Donte Thornton back out there making plays? It looked like neither one missed a beat. Thornton was a beast down the field, with 3 catches for 105 yards and two scores. McCoy was cutting well and looked like a guy who had an entire offseason rather than one coming back from a gruesome ankle injury. Full speed ahead for this group.
5) On the defensive side of the ball, Tennessee rotated 17 defensive linemen in the game. That’s a pretty crazy number. No, not all of those would play in a competitive game against a Power Five team, but Tennessee’s depth at the position is unmistakable.
Out of the group Tyre West had himself a day. He had two tackles for loss, a sack, and forced a fumble that was recovered by Joshua Josephs. A strong showing in limited action by the junior defensive lineman.
6) On special teams, freshman edge Jordan Ross showed why he was so highly rated coming out of high school. At 62-3 in the game’s final minutes, the five-star pass rusher came around the edge on a punt rush, blocked it, chased it down, recovered it, and ran into the end zone for the game’s final points. Gotta love a good punt block touchdown. It’s even better when it’s done by a player in his first-ever game.
All in all, it was a fine tune up that got a lot of people some valuable game reps. Now the real work begins as Tennessee takes on NC State – who struggled with Western Carolina in their opener – on Saturday night in Charlotte. We’ll see if the Vols can make it 2-0.
Go Vols!