PFF Grades: Tennessee vs. Alabama

Let’s see how the Vols did.

Elite Grade = 90-100, All-Conference = 85-89, Starter = 70-84, Backup = 60-69, Interchangeable = 60>

Offensive grades (at least 14 games – 20% of offensive games)

QB Nico Iamaleava – 75.8 (75 games)

WR Dont'e Thornton – 73.8 (25 games)

RB De'Sean Bishop – 72.1 (17 games)

C Cooper Mays – 68.7 (76 games)

RB Dylan Sampson – 67.5 (53 games)

WR Bru McCoy – 61.7 (57 games)

TE Ethan Davis – 60.7 (20 games)

WR Chris Brazzell – 59.2 (55 games)

RG Javontez Spraggins – 59.1 (76 games)

LG Andrej Karic – 56.7 (76 games)

WR Chas Nimrod – 54.6 (29 games)

TE Holden Staes – 52.1 (30 games)

RT Dayne Davis – 51.3 (30 games)

RT John Campbell Jr – 49.7 (46 games)

WR Squirrel White – 46.7 (27 games)

LT Lance Heard – 45.9 (76 games)

TE Miles Kitselman – 44.9 (53 games)

Some of these offensive notes were a surprise to me. Firstly, Nico Iamaleava performed just as well as he did. He played great in the second half, which we wrote about last night, but I'm still surprised that was enough to make up for the poor first half from a league perspective. I wonder if PFF felt that some of the slight misses on incompletions were the fault of the receivers rather than Iamaleava.

I was also surprised at how low the offensive line ratings were overall. I thought the Vols offensive line played well last night, especially in the second half. Great run blocking in the final 30 minutes and solid pass protection all night.

One thing that didn't surprise me was the tight final grades. Ethan Davis did some good things in the passing game, Holden Staes had some great blocks on Tennessee's first touchdown drive and Miles Kitselman struggled.

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Defensive grades (at least 16 games – 20% of defensive games)

S Will Brooks – 84.1 (64 games)

DE Dominic Bailey – 77.3 (42 games)

LB Kalib Perry – 75.9 (26 games)

DT Omarr Norman-Lott – 73.6 (16 games)

LEO James Pearce Jr. – 72.7 (49 games)

DE Tire West – 71.5 (28 games)

DT Bryson Eason – 71.2 (39 games)

DT Daevin Hobbs – 69.9 (22 games)

CB Jermod McCoy – 69.7 (63 games)

STAR Jalen McMurray – 68.9 (34 games)

S Jakobe Thomas – 66.9 (22 games)

LB Jalen Smith – 66.2 (21 games)

DT Jaxson Moi – 64.9 (27 games)

S Andre Turrentine – 64.6 (49 games)

LEO Josh Josephs – 63.5 (40 games)

S Christian Charles – 60.7 (29 games)

DT Omari Thomas – 60.0 (30 games)

STAR Boo Carter – 53.0 (45 games)

CB Rickey Gibson III – 51.4 (69 games)

LB Arion Carter – 51.1 (79 games)

LB Jeremiah Telander – 50.5 (64 games)

Here is one of my PFF grade beefs. Jermod McCoy was fantastic in this game. Did you have good coverage all night, make a game-changing interception, and get a replacement grade? That's crazy. McCoy battled one of the best receivers in the country most of the night, allowing five catches for 44 yards on 11 targets.

Sticking with the secondary, how about Will Brooks? Simply an incredible story. He was great against his home team, as he has been all season.

Two notes that I can't say surprise me are Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander. I don't think any of the sophomore linebackers played well in this game. But Kalib Perry played the best game of his career and Jalen Smith also played well despite an increased workload.