Tennessee's Pro Football Focus grades on offense this season

Tennessee’s Pro Football Focus grades on offense this season

Posted by Admin December 30, 2024 Football

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A closer look at Tennessee Football’s Pro Football Focus grades on offense this season:

Quarterbacks

Nico Iamaleava completed 213 of 334 passes (63.7%) for 2,616 yards with 19 touchdowns and five interceptions, averaging 201.2 yards per game with a passer rating of 145.3. His season high was the 314 yards he threw for against Chattanooga in the season opener. He threw for 200 or more yards five times and had three or more touchdowns in three games, including four touchdowns against UTEP and Vanderbilt.

Gaston Moore completed 16 of 27 passes (59.2%) for 201 yards and two touchdowns and two interceptions, appearing in six games. Moore entered the NCAA Transfer Portal last week.

Freshman Jake Merklinger completed 6 of 9 passes for 38 yards in two games and Navy Shuler was 1-for-3 in his two appearances.

Rushing

Dylan Sampson set Tennessee single-season records with 1,491 yards and 22 touchdowns. He carried 258 times in 13 games, averaging 114.7 yards per game and 5.8 yards per carry, running for 100 or more yards 11 times. He had a season-high 178 yards in the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt and scored two or more times in seven games.

DeSean Bishop ran 74 times in 10 games as Sampson’s backup, totaling 455 yards and three touchdowns. He averaged 45.5 yards per game and 6.1 yards per carry. Peyton Lewis became the No. 3 running back early on and ended the season with 339 yards on 64 carries, scoring three touchdowns while averaging 26.1 yards per game and 5.3 yards per carry.

Cameron Seldon carried 23 times for 118 yards and a touchdown after battling injury early in the season. He entered the NCAA Transfer Portal during the December window along with Khalifa Keith, who had 21 carries for 100 yards and one touchdown in four games.

Receiving

Dont’e Thornton Jr. led Tennessee in receiving yards, with 661, and touchdowns, with six. He averaged 50.5 yards per game and 25.4 yards per reception, two more team highs. Bru McCoy caught a team-high 39 passes for 472 yards and two touchdowns, Squirrel White had 34 catches fore 381 yards and two touchdowns and Chris Brazzell II caught 29 passes for 333 yards and two touchdowns.

Miles Kitselman caught 22 passes at tight end for 301 yards and four touchdowns, arguably the biggest surprise for the Vols this season after transferring to Tennessee from Alabama. Holden Staes caught 15 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, transferring from Notre Dame to Tennessee, then re-entering the transfer portal in the December window.

Chas Nimrod caught 10 passes for 121 yards and Kaleb Webb caught six passes for 48 yards. Both Nimrod and Webb, along with White, have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal.

Offensive Line

Tennessee led the SEC in rushing at 225.85 yards per game. The Vols led the SEC in rush attempts (584), yards (2,936), touchdowns (34), average per rush (5.03), attempts per game (44.92) and yards per game.

Tennessee was second in the SEC in scoring offense, averaging 35.7 points per game, trailing only Ole Miss at 37.5 points per game. The Vols were 10th in the league in passing offense, averaging 221.2 yards per game. Tennessee was 10th in the SEC in sacks allowed, with 30.0 given up, and eighth in sack yards, at 150.