Tennessee at Oklahoma: Final injury report revealed
The much-awaited showdown in Norman between Oklahoma and Tennessee is hours away, and the final picture of who is in or out has come into focus as the SEC released final injury reports for the week.
Things have gotten better for both teams as kickoff approaches on Saturday evening, with a bevy of questionable and probably players now set to go. All told, nine players are out across both squads, and the Sooners have a pair of game time decisions.
Check out the full reports below.
Full Oklahoma-Tennessee Thursday injury report
Oklahoma
- WR Jayden Gibson — out
- DB Gentry Williams — out
- OL Geirean Hatchett — out
- WR Jalil Farooq — out
- LB Dasan McCullough — out
- OL Branson Hickman — game time decision
- OL Jake Taylor — game time decision
Tennessee
- DB Jourdan Thomas — out
- DB John Slaughter — out
- OL Shamurad Umarov — out
- OL Lance Heard — out
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Much of the game may hinge on how the Tennessee offense can perform in a difficult road environment against a stingy Oklahoma defense. And now-ESPN analyst Nick Saban thinks the up-tempo Volunteers offense could help sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava thrive.
Saban spoke about having a young quarterback ready for a road environment while on “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday. He says that it’s on coaches to provide them with what they need for the stadium to not overwhelm them.
“Well, I think the most important thing with the young quarterback is make sure you’ve put him in a situation in practice where he’s had to deal with the noise,” said Saban. “Explain to him exactly what he’s getting into. If he makes a few mistakes early in the game, don’t let it affect you because you don’t want it to affect him.”
However, with how the Volunteers play anyways, it’ll negate some of that already according to Saban. Iamaleava won’t have to listen too closely considering how they call plays and how quickly their operation runs.
“These teams that go fast? I think they’re not really, you know, counting on the cadence, you know, that much early on,” Saban explained. “I do think it’s a little easier for a quarterback to transition to noise when you’re trying to do fastball. So maybe that’s what they have Nico prepared for in this game.”
Iamaleava has been fantastic for the first three real starts of his career. In those outings, he is 48-67 (71.6%) for 698 yards, six touchdowns, and a pair of interceptions. He has also run for 102 yards and a score at six yards a carry.
With him running their offense, the Vols are right back to being one of the top units in the country. They’re No. 1 in the nation in scoring at 63.7 points per game for a total of 191 points. They’re also second in yards per game with 639.3 at a total of 1,918 yards overall.