Tennessee Football: Midseason Grades for Each Volunteers Positional Unit
Tennessee's top-heavy first half of the football season is over, and after this week's Alabama game, the rest of the year looks manageable.
That would be good news for a fanbase that has been through the emotional roller coaster so far through a 3-3 start.
The Volunteers have endured coaching gaffes, blown leads and a huge comeback in a big win against Georgia. They've almost won national-stage games against Florida and Oklahoma, only to lose in heartbreaking, finger-pointing fashion.
In the midst of the season, the Vols broke in heaps of young, talented players and endured enough season-ending injuries to last a couple of years. It's been a crazy year when positions expected to be weaknesses have emerged as strengths and areas full of talent have become major concerns.
While the win over the Bulldogs entering the bye week has fostered a little bit of goodwill on Rocky Top, there have been rocky moments. And there are plenty of areas for improvement as coach Butch Jones tries to lead his program into another step forward.
An 8-4 (or perhaps even 9-3) season is still possible if UT can reach its talent-filled potential, but in order to do that, the second-half grades for each positional unit need to be better than these.
Given all the hype entering the year, the first part of the season has been below satisfactory, but there's still time for the Vols to bring up their grades. Let's take a look at the position-by-position breakdown.
Quarterbacks
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Tennessee's passing game hasn't been where it's needed to be so far this season, and that cannot be denied.
But the Vols also likely wouldn't have beaten Georgia had Joshua Dobbs not been such a dominating force throwing the ball and running it.
That's kind of the dichotomy of playing a superb dual-threat quarterback who isn't the most accurate passer in the world. Given what he is and what he could be, the 6'3", 207-pound junior signal-caller has only scratched the surface of his potential this year, and UT needs him to be much better.
Still, his impressive skills were on display in an award-winning performance against the Bulldogs that garnered him the Walter Camp National Player of the Week honor. He also led UT in passing, rushing and receiving in a game against Florida where he played well enough to lead the Vols to victory.
Then there were the debacles against Oklahoma and Arkansas, when he struggled mightily while spending most of his time in the pocket.
When Dobbs is allowed to be Dobbs and offensive coordinator Mike DeBord calls plays to his strengths, he is a star. Thus far this season, he has 1,101 passing yards with eight touchdowns and two interceptions.
He also is second on the team with 368 rushing yards and five touchdowns.
"I don’t think there’s any question about the fact that the guy is really playing well and has had a great year so far," said Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose Crimson Tide must face Dobbs this week (via GoVols247's Wes Rucker).
Dobbs needs to continue to grow and develop in the passing game for the Vols to win eight or nine games and finish with a successful season. But he appears to be getting better as the weeks pass.
Grade: B-
Running Backs
2 of 8
While it's difficult to say Tennessee has imposed its will in the run game, there's no denying how much better the Vols are than they've been really in the past decade in that facet.
A lot of that success is because of sophomore workhorse Jalen Hurd, who is quite possibly the most underrated star in the Southeastern Conference.
Because of Leonard Fournette, Nick Chubb and Derrick Henry, the 242-pound steamroller from Hendersonville, Tennessee, doesn't get the headlines. But all he does is grind out tough yards, turn corners for big gains on the edge and punish defenders when he gets where he's going.
Hurd wears on defenses week in and week out. He's the antithesis of soft. He has 572 rushing yards so far with seven touchdowns. Those aren't eye-popping numbers, but he certainly is impressive every game.
He's an emerging star, and he also has nine grabs for 85 yards and another touchdown.
Though UT just now seems to be finding ways to utilize speed-burning athlete Alvin Kamara in the open field, he provides a nice complement to Hurd's battering-ram style. Kamara has 255 rushing yards, 108 receiving yards, 84 punt-return yards and even 24 passing yards. He's accounted for six touchdowns.
It would be nice to see either Hurd or Kamara break some huge runs and finish with some gaudy numbers, and that hasn't happened, so that docks their grade a bit. But they're steady, and when you throw in Joshua Dobbs' rushing numbers, the Vols have a potent attack.
Grade: B+
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends
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Tennessee's receivers are one of the two most disappointing positional units on the field.
For the second consecutive season, the excuse is floating around that the Vols simply cannot stay healthy at the pass-catching position, and that's true. But with the depth of the unit, there's no reason why they shouldn't be producing more.
This grade would be even worse if not for the Georgia game, but it appeared in the tilt with the Bulldogs that the group took a step forward.
"I felt like we had our confidence back, our swagger back, for real," Smith said after the Georgia win. "I could just sense it on the sideline, and that was huge. I mean, we really were focusing on throwing it down the field. I mean, we needed it. We had to take a break off the run game.
"I felt like the receivers came to play tonight, and we made the plays that we needed to win. I’m just proud."
Smith has been steady most of the year, and Josh Malone is emerging as a go-to player for Joshua Dobbs. The freshman duo of Preston Williams and Jauan Jennings have shown flashes as well.
But Tennessee needs for senior Von Pearson to get back to his ankle-breaking self in the open field, and he simply hasn't done that yet. They also need for Marquez North and Johnathon Johnson to get healthy, because both have the potential to really help this team.
The receivers by themselves would get a "D" grade, but with Mackey Award watch-list member Ethan Wolf having a great year at tight end, it brings the grade up. He is a weapon, and Dobbs needs to find him more.
So, yes, there are plenty of holes. But there is also a lot of talent, and UT has to find a way to milk that into some production.
Grade: C-
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Offensive Line
4 of 8
Talk about your pleasant surprises.
Tennessee's offensive line was much maligned a season ago, and many wrote them off this season, too. But even in the midst of constant shakeup and injury-fueled turmoil, the Vols have consistently provided a strong unit.
If there's one place the addition of offensive coordinator Mike DeBord shored up, it was on the offensive front.
Case in point: Tennessee dealt with the loss of Brett Kendrick, Mack Crowder and Jashon Robertson either leading up to or during the Georgia game. It was to the point where the Vols had to insert true freshmen Jack Jones and Chance Hall.
Both played extremely well as UT's offensive line was a strength in the win.
They've consistently opened big holes, and they've led Tennessee to the second-ranked rush offense in the SEC, averaging 222 yards per game on the ground. They're tied for third with 15 rushing touchdowns.
The ground has allowed 11 sacks so far, which is in the bottom half of the league. But they've also played against some pretty stout defenses.
Moving forward, the line should be a major strength for UT beginning next year as a youth movement of talented players usher in 2016 with some necessary experience under their belts. For now, it's still a bit of a patchwork unit, but the Vols are making it work.
They may take some lumps against Alabama, but this has the chance to finish as a solid group when nobody really expected that. Players such as Robertson, senior left tackle Kyler Kerbyson and sophomore center Coleman Thomas are bright spots.
That's a big deal for the Vols.
Grade: B-
Defensive Line
5 of 8
As surprising as the offensive line has been, UT's defensive front has been just as disappointing.
In fairness to the group, you don't lose an impact player like senior Curt Maggitt for the season and not feel the shockwaves. That's exactly what's happened across the board. When he exited, that meant teams could focus more attention on Derek Barnett, and his numbers have suffered because of it.
Barnett hasn't been 100 percent, and he still wreaks plenty of havoc, but his numbers are going to take a significant hit from his sterling freshman campaign.
Freshman pass-rusher Kyle Phillips has battled injuries, and defensive tackle Danny O'Brien was suspended for a couple of games. Just when the Vols looked to be getting somewhat healthy on the D-line, super freshman Shy Tuttle was lost for the year against Georgia.
It's been that kind of season.
Now, UT must play the remainder of the season with what is currently a four-man rotation at defensive tackle. The Vols must continue to account for the loss of Maggitt, and they've got to find some able bodies who can help Barnett generate a pass rush.
On the bright side, freshman Kahlil McKenzie finally looks to be rounding into shape and understanding the game a lot better. He appears poised for a breakout second half, and that would be huge news for UT's defensive front.
No matter how it shakes out, it's probably going to be a season that falls short of massive expectations on the defensive front. But D-line coach Steve Stripling's group still has plenty of time to make its mark on the season, and there are good enough players across the front to do it.
Grade: C-
Linebackers
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The Vols have a full-fledged star on the second level in Jalen Reeves-Maybin, but he alone can't bring up the grade in what has been a suspect unit so far.
Tackling woes are prevalent, and with a walk-on before and now a true freshman in Darrin Kirkland Jr. starting at middle linebacker, the Vols have been forced to take plenty of lumps in the middle.
Kirkland has immense upside and looks like he'll be a strong future cog in that defense, and he already provides a better option than Colton Jumper, but he needs to grow up in a hurry. The biggest test of Kirkland's young career will come against Alabama, and he'll get to see where he is in the development process.
As for Reeves-Maybin, while he isn't big enough to go pro early, he looks like he has a future on the next level. He hearkens back to those old, fast Tennessee linebackers of the '90s under John Chavis who roamed sideline-to-sideline and could make tackles from anywhere on the field.
The bottom line is UT misses four-year starter and All-SEC middle linebacker A.J. Johnson. Studs like that don't grow on trees, and when you lose a player of his caliber, production suffers.
When youngsters such as Austin Smith, Dillon Bates, Quart'e Sapp and Cortez McDowell get good enough to provide quality depth, the position will be in good hands. But they aren't there yet.
It's evident UT is struggling on the second level because of it.
Grade: C-
Defensive Backs
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There's far too much talent in this secondary to be as bad as the Vols have been this year; there's just no excuse for it.
The Vols are allowing more than 248 passing yards, which is next-to-last in the SEC just ahead of Arkansas. When they went head-to-head with the Razorbacks, UT's defensive backs were worse than the Hogs.
It has been a forgettable season for defensive backs coach Willie Martinez, who was suspended for the first game due to a recruiting violation and can't seem to find the right mixture of bodies on the field since then.
Starting nickelback Rashaan Gaulden's season-ending foot injury in the preseason loomed large from the outset, as Malik Foreman has been mediocre at the extremely important position. Sophomore Emmanuel Moseley showed so much promise in his freshman season but has been wildly inconsistent this year.
Even star cornerback Cameron Sutton hasn't been his shutdown self, as teams have proven they aren't afraid to throw in his direction. The junior is still a strong, talented defender whom NFL teams covet, but he hasn't had the type of year many expected.
Then, there's the struggling safety play rife with bad angles and a lack of help over the top on deep passes. It hasn't been a banner year for seniors Brian Randolph or LaDarrell McNeil. The latter missed the first couple of games of the year with injury and has shown some big-play ability, but he struggles in open-field tackling.
Randolph made the game-saving pass breakup against the Bulldogs and is second on the team in tackles, but his angles and tackling have been bad as well.
The best player in the unit so far is sophomore Todd Kelly Jr., and for some reason, he isn't even a full-time player.
The Vols need to solidify the back end.
Grade: D-
Special Teams
8 of 8
You know it's been a good year when your placekicker has missed five field goals and it's still considered a banner special teams season.
Though sophomore Aaron Medley needs to bounce back and have a much-improved second half of the year after going 9-of-14 in field goals to start the season, everything else is brilliant on Tennessee's special teams.
A case can be made that the Vols are among the nation's best.
You have to start with sophomore walk-on punter Trevor Daniel, who should be getting Ray Guy Award consideration with the start he's had. Arguably the team's MVP, Daniel has not only averaged 47.6 yards per punt, he's been strong situationally, putting 13 of his punts inside the 20.
He's a big-legged, field-flipping wizard, and 14 of his 33 punts have traveled more than 50 yards.
That's crazy when you remember that Daniel doesn't have a scholarship and was locked in a three-man preseason battle to win the job with a fifth-year senior transfer in Nate Renfro and a former U.S. Army All-American in Tommy Townsend.
Daniel had little fanfare, but everybody around Rocky Top knows him now.
That's not even to mention kick returner Evan Berry, who leads the nation with five kick returns of more than 30 yards. He's already taken two back for touchdowns and leads the FBS with 550 kickoff return yards, an average of 39.3 and kickoffs returned for a touchdown.
Oh by the way, Cameron Sutton and Alvin Kamara are each averaging more than 16 yards per punt return, and Kamara took one to the house against Western Carolina.
The Vols also have been solid in punt and kick coverage teams. So, while Medley has room for improvement, everything else has been very strong on special teams.
Special Teams: A-
All stats gathered from CFBStats.com unless otherwise noted. All quotes gathered firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee lead writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.
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