Some observations from Vols’ win against Chattanooga

As a team, Tennessee checked pretty much all the boxes it was supposed to this past Saturday in the 69-3 blow-out win against the Mocs.

There was obviously a clear difference in talent between the two squads, so this sort of win was to be expected. But the Vols’, playing with less than a full deck of cards in terms of what they showed playbook-wise, offensively and defensively, displayed an efficiency on offense and a stoutness on defense that put on more steam for the Tennessee hype train.

Nico Iamaleava

Nico’s performance fanned the flames of his prospects and the team’s aptitude for production offensively. He played half of the game, set a school record for yards in a half and made the most of his time on the field. One of the assets he brings to the table that have, for the most part, been lacking since Hendon Hooker’s tenure at QB is the ability to improvise, process information quickly despite unaccounted for or unsuspected occurrences during the play. On the offense’s first play, we saw a glimpse of that capacity.

A stunt from the defensive lineman in the B gap (I think) on the left side of the offensive line, and John Campbell getting pushed back at the snap collapses the pocket forced Iamaleava to escape around the pressure. But he keeps his head up, finds former Tulane WR and first-year Vol Chris Brazzell running what looks to be an out route (again, I think) and throws a dime for a first down.

Chattanooga’s DBs were giving the UT WRs a sizable cushion, determined to give up short gains instead of to over-the-top, explosive plays, which Tennessee took advantage of on the next drive after the Mocs’ fumble (we’ll come back to that).

Bru McCoy had two catches for 14 yards with the shortened field, which set up a 17-yard rush from Dylan Sampson that put the Vols inside the Chattanooga five-yard line.

Now, Nico’s first TD pass of the season and game might not look like much, but I saw a perfectly timed ball to Ethan Davis for the score.

From my vantage point, what makes this play special is that Davis gets a clean release at the line, but gets jammed by a DB near the goal line,and Nico throws perfectly-timed pass, letting the ball rip before Davis cuts inside, while he’s still covered up by the defensive back.

There are other factors at play here, too. One — in 2022, the Vols scored on 95 percent of their red-zone opportunities, taking into account TDs and FGS, which ranked them fourth nationally and second in the SEC, behind UGA’s 98-somethin percent. Last year, UT fell to a tie for 63rd in the country at just below 85 percent and finished ninth in the conference, not taking into account the additions to this year’s new additions of Texas and Oklahoma, of which the Sooners also finished ahead of Tennessee.

Despite the short-yardage situation, it was still a play over the middle of the field, which is an area the Vols didn’t utilize last season as often as they should have. Plus, it was Davis’ first career TD — the first of many if Davis turns out to be the weapon the staff believes him to be.

While we’re on the topic of Tennessee’s utilization of the area on the field between the hash marks, Nico’s throws to Brazzell and Dont’e Thornton, Jr., were, as they say, darts.

Iamaleava places the ball just over a couple defender’s heads on the first play, landing it between three defenders in proximity. Then, he finds Thornton, Jr., in single coverage with no help over the top and drops the pass right in the bread basket for Thornton who was running a post route. The windows will certainly be tighter against better competition. But the QB and the receivers seem to already have a solid connection on timing and ball placement, which is encouraging considering Thornton and Brazzell are both caught their first balls from Nico. The young quarterback hit another middle-of-the-field pass to Bru McCoy for a 37-yard gain that set up the Vols’ fourth TD of the first half. Take what the defense gives you, but opening up the middle of the field will be crucial this season.

Iamaleava started the game 10-10 and finished the first quarter 12-13 for 176 yards and two TDs. Before he ended the quarter with an incompletion intended for Chas Nimrod, that may or may not have been catchable, Nico tossed another absolutely perfectly-placed ball to Thornton, Jr., down the far sideline. The RS-FR’s third TD pass would go to Thornton, but after this bomb that was Tennessee’s only drive that ended up in a FG for the duration of the game. There’s not many replays of this pass, but man I just found it beautiful.

Nico placed the ball past the corner who lost the inside leverage and got it to Thornton before the safety could get there.

Alright — so I’d love to go through every one of Iamaleava’s passes, but this is already running long, and I want to dispense some complimentary notes about other players. 22-28 for 313 yards and three TDs in one half. We’ll see next week, but the offense appears to be in good hands with its quarterback and skill players.

Dylan Sampson/ Tennessee’s rushing attack

Sampson ended his day with multiple chunk plays, including a 56-yard run. He had 12 carries for 124 yards and three receptions for 29 yards, including a 19-yard catch. He did so in a half of work, with DeSean Bishop spelling him throughout the half. Both Sampson and Bishop averaged more than 10-yards per-rush and accounted for more than 200 of the Vols’ 300-plus rushing yards. All four scholarship backs played, with Cam Seldon getting in work in the first half, too. Khalifa Keith helped Jake Merklinger on a 17-play, 80-yard scoring drive in the fourth quarter. Keith accounted for 10 carries, 49 yards and a touchdown run on the drive.

We’ll see how the playing time gets dispersed moving forward, but I assume the coaches are content with their decision to not pursue a RB in the portal prior to the season.

Defense/ Special Teams

While the defense accounted for just one sack, and James Pearce didn’t log a tackle, the unit as a whole had five tipped passes, five QB hurries and five QB hits. Boo Carter had a gnarly hurry/ hit on the Chattanooga QB in his first game as a Tennessee Vol.

And EDGE Joshua Josephs, of whom the coaches are expecting a big year of, nearly stole the handoff but laid the RB out for a tackle-for-loss.

Also, Caleb Herring, a sophomore EDGE who’s put on 45-ish pounds to help fill out his 6-5 frame, managed to evade a cut block, while three other defenders didn’t get past theirs.

Finally, Tyre West continued his strong play from last season. In the final two games of last year, the now-junior had six tackles, two sacks and a TFL. Against Chattanooga, he finished with two tackles, the team’s only sack, a team-leading two TFLs and this forced fumble.

There’s so much depth on the defensive line, but I’d imagine more snaps are in his future.

Cam Seldon looked good at running back, but his 35-yard kickoff return was certainly a positive, hampered only by the fact that kickoff returns are fairly rare these days.

And then former five-star recruit Jordan Ross. A blocked punt in his first career game. He blasts off the far side of the screen, slides by a blocker, blocks the kick with two hands and scrambles up the recovery for the TD return. He’s gonna find his way into the defensive front-seven rotation by year’s end.

There was plenty more, but this is already too long, and y’all watched the game. No favorites — just guys who stuck out to me.

Onward to Charlotte and NC State.