Tennessee made easy work of Akron Saturday night, cruising to a 63-6 win over the Zips in front of a sold out Neyland Stadium crowd.
The Vols scored six touchdowns in the seven possessions the starters played while Joe Milton III fired a pair of touchdowns off the bench.
If you need a reminder on how Pro Football Focus works, read the opening of the Ball State grades.
Let’s see how the Vols graded out.
Elite grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Replaceable = 60 >
Offensive Grades (minimum 19 plays — 25% of offensive snaps)
RT Darnell Wright — 84.0 (54 plays)
TE Hunter Salmon — 81.5 (25 plays)
QB Hendon Hooker — 81.5 (54 plays)
TE Jacob Warren — 80.4 (28 plays)
LT Gerald Mincey — 80.3 (54 plays)
WR Jalin Hyatt — 78.9 (48 plays)
RB Jaylen Wright — 73.4 (42 plays)
LG Ollie Lane — 72.9 (23 plays)
RT Dayne Davis — 70.0 (23 plays)
RG Javontez Spraggins — 67.5 (54 plays)
C Cooper Mays — 67.0 (54 plays)
C Parker Ball — 66.6 (23 plays)
LG Jerome Carvin — 65.6 (54 plays)
WR Ramel Keyton — 64.9 (27 plays)
TE Princeton Fant — 63.2 (23 plays)
RB Dylan Sampson — 60.6 (19 plays)
WR Cedric Tillman — 59.1 (36 plays)
RG Jackson Lampley — 57.1 (23 plays)
WR Bru McCoy — 51.5 (53 plays)
LT RJ Perry — 46.6 (23 plays)
Let’s start with the grades from a few guys who didn’t earn 19 snaps. Joe Milton III graded out higher than any Tennessee offensive player, earning an 88.5 grade. Tayven Jackson earned an 80.4 grade in 12 snaps, Walker Merrill earned a 79.1 grade in 11 snaps and Squirrel White earned a 76.1 grade in 11 snaps.
Credit to a number of Tennessee back ups who performed well in their opportunities. UCF transfer Charlie Browder had a nice performance as did Ollie Lane and Dayne Davis.
It was a short night for Cedric Tillman and Bru McCoy but neither played their best games.
More From RTI: Tennessee Opens As Favorites Against Florida
Defensive Grades (minimum 18 plays — 25% of defensive plays)
CB De’Shawn Rucker — 80.3 (28 plays)
STAR Tamarion McDonald — 78.6 (35 plays)
CB Kamal Hadden — 74.5 (47 plays)
LB Elijah Herring — 67.2 (19 plays)
DE Tyre West — 66.8 (22 plays)
DT LaTrell Bumphus — 66.0 (20 plays)
S Jaylen McCollough — 65.8 (46 plays)
CB Christian Charles — 64.1 (32 plays)
DE Dominic Bailey — 63.4 (27 plays)
CB Doneiko Slaughter — 62.8 (29 plays)
LB Jeremy Banks — 62.2 (28 plays)
DT Omari Thomas — 60.6 (23 plays)
STAR Wesley Walker — 59.9 (37 plays)
LB Solon Page III — 59.3 (26 plays)
DE Joshua Josephs — 58.2 (29 plays)
LB Juwan Mitchell — 58.1 (29 plays)
DE Tyler Baron — 56.8 (22 plays)
DE Byron Young — 56.1 (34 plays)
LB Aaron Beasley — 54.8 (25 plays)
S Andre Turrentine — 54.5 (22 plays)
DE Bryson Eason — 50.5 (18 plays)
S Trevon Flowers — 48.7 (43 plays)
DT Kurott Garland — 45.1 (21 plays)
CB Christian Harrison — 41.7 (18 plays)
Tennessee played an abundance of defenders against the Zips. Twenty four Vols played over 25% of snaps and 42 Volunteer defenders played in total.
It was not a strong day for Tennessee’s main linebackers. Jeremy Banks, Solon Page III, Juwan Mitchell and Aaron Beasley all graded out poorly.
Three games into the season and it’s pretty clear Kamal Hadden is Tennessee’s top corner. Another strong performance from Hadden against the Zips.
