Tennessee 51, NC State 10: Pro Football Focus grades, snap counts in another blowout
Tennessee Football’s grades and snap counts from Pro Football Focus from the 51-10 win over North Carolina State in the Duke’s Mayo Classic Saturday night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte:
Offense
| Player | Overall Grade | Snaps | Pass | Pass Block | Run | Run Block |
| TE Miles Kitselman | 94.0 | 39 | 91.5 | 71.6 | – | 81.0 |
| RB Dylan Sampson | 73.2 | 45 | 84.7 | 79.3 | 69.0 | 59.8 |
| RB DeSean Bishop | 72.8 | 18 | 57.4 | 75.8 | 71.3 | 60.0 |
| TE Ethan Davis | 70.7 | 23 | 66.2 | 71.1 | – | 73.8 |
| OL Lance Heard | 69.1 | 63 | – | 60.5 | – | 68.7 |
| OL Andrej Karic | 68.8 | 63 | – | 84.1 | – | 66.0 |
| WR Squirrel White | 65.9 | 35 | 69.1 | – | – | 45.8 |
| OL Cooper Mays | 64.9 | 63 | – | 76.5 | – | 61.1 |
| WR Bru McCoy | 60.8 | 43 | 57.6 | – | – | 74.9 |
| WR Nate Spillman | 60.7 | 6 | – | – | – | 60.9 |
| WR Nathan Leacock | 60.7 | 6 | – | – | – | 61.0 |
| WR Dayton Sneed | 60.4 | 6 | – | – | – | 60.6 |
| QB Nico Iamaleava | 60.4 | 63 | 58.8 | – | 60.5 | 60.0 |
| WR Chris Brazzell II | 60.2 | 38 | 59.9 | – | – | 60.5 |
| QB Gaston Moore | 60.0 | 6 | – | – | – | 60.0 |
| OL Javontez Spraggins | 59.7 | 58 | – | 67.0 | – | 62.0 |
| WR Kaleb Webb | 59.1 | 4 | 59.3 | – | – | 60.0 |
| TE Charlie Browder | 58.9 | 6 | – | – | – | 58.4 |
| OL Shamurad Umarov | 58.6 | 6 | – | – | – | 58.5 |
| OL Jackson Lampley | 58.1 | 11 | – | 67.3 | – | 57.7 |
| WR Chas Nimrod | 56.0 | 14 | 56.0 | – | – | 61.1 |
| RB Peyton Lewis | 55.4 | 3 | – | – | 56.5 | – |
| WR Dont’e Thornton | 55.4 | 20 | 55.2 | – | – | 61.0 |
| RB Khalifa Keith | 54.9 | 3 | – | – | 56.1 | – |
| OL Dayne Davis | 54.1 | 33 | – | 79.9 | – | 56.1 |
| TE Holden Staes | 51.0 | 36 | 63.1 | 42.4 | – | 45.9 |
| OL William Satterwhite | 48.0 | 6 | – | – | – | 47.8 |
| OL John Campbell | 47.0 | 30 | – | 79.5 | – | 56.4 |
| OL Brian Grant | 45.3 | 6 | – | – | – | 43.6 |
| OL Larry Johnson III | 35.0 | 6 | – | – | – | 33.6 |
Nico Iamaleava against NC State completed 16 of 23 passes for 211 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions and rushed eight times for 65 yards and another score on the ground.
Dylan Sampson led the Vols on the ground with 132 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. DeSean Bishop carried 10 times for 42 yards with Cameron Seldon inactive for the game. The Vols finished with 249 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on 44 attempts as a team, averaging 5.7 yards per carry.
Squirrel White caught two passes for a team-high 67 yards and tight ends Miles Kitselman, Holden Staes and Ethan Davis combined for six catches for 71 yards and two touchdowns.
Dont’e Thornton didn’t catch a pass and was targeted just once. Bru McCoy had one catch for 10 yards on four targets.
Defense
| Player | Overall Grade | Snap Count | Run Defense | Tackle | Pass Rush | Coverage |
| DL Omari Thomas | 90.8 | 23 | 79.2 | 74.6 | 79.1 | 63.8 |
| DL Tyre West | 84.7 | 12 | 79.1 | 74.9 | 69.4 | – |
| DL Omarr Norman-Lott | 80.2 | 14 | 72.5 | 72.9 | 68.8 | – |
| DB Jermod McCoy | 76.7 | 42 | 64.8 | 78.9 | – | 76.8 |
| LB Jeremiah Telander | 75.1 | 25 | 68.8 | 73.1 | 78.7 | 62.6 |
| DL Nathan Robinson | 74.8 | 3 | 69.1 | 69.7 | – | – |
| DL Dominic Bailey | 73.9 | 29 | 63.5 | 74.3 | 89.6 | – |
| DL Jaxson Moi | 70.7 | 14 | 70.5 | 69.7 | 59.1 | 60.0 |
| DB Will Brooks | 70.1 | 40 | 56.6 | 28.6 | 59.7 | 73.9 |
| DL Joshua Josephs | 69.2 | 18 | 70.0 | 75.2 | 59.3 | 63.4 |
| DL Tyree Weathersby | 68.8 | 6 | 66.3 | – | – | – |
| DB Edrees Farooq | 67.8 | 6 | 68.3 | 76.2 | – | – |
| LB Eli Purcell | 66.8 | 3 | 64.8 | 73.6 | – | – |
| DB John Slaughter | 66.7 | 6 | 65.4 | 76.2 | – | – |
| DL Daevin Hobbs | 66.5 | 13 | 66.7 | – | 58.4 | – |
| DB Jalen McMurray | 66.2 | 18 | 62.8 | – | – | 65.0 |
| LB Caleb Herring | 65.7 | 9 | 65.6 | – | 58.3 | 60.0 |
| DB Rickey Gibson III | 64.9 | 39 | 61.7 | 74.2 | – | 64.5 |
| LB Jalen Smith | 63.8 | 17 | 63.3 | 76.0 | – | 61.6 |
| DL James Pearce Jr. | 63.8 | 29 | 68.6 | 42.5 | 55.9 | 61.7 |
| DB Andre Turrentine | 63.1 | 41 | 62.3 | 76.0 | 60.0 | 62.5 |
| DL Joshua Helston | 62.6 | 3 | 61.2 | – | – | – |
| DB Jakobe Thomas | 62.2 | 15 | 50.5 | 37.1 | 69.9 | 64.6 |
| DB Jordan Matthews | 60.6 | 6 | 60.0 | – | – | – |
| LB Keenan Pili | 60.5 | 31 | 79.5 | 78.6 | 54.6 | 58.9 |
| LB Ryan Scott | 60.4 | 2 | 60.0 | – | – | – |
| DL Jordan Ross | 60.3 | 7 | 60.2 | – | 60.0 | – |
| DB Kaleb Beasley | 60.2 | 3 | 60.0 | – | – | – |
| LB Arion Carter | 59.8 | 33 | 60.7 | 80.0 | 66.3 | 56.3 |
| DB Christian Harrison | 56.9 | 23 | 63.9 | 76.9 | 58.2 | 55.3 |
| DB Boo Carter | 54.4 | 23 | 65.6 | 39.5 | 57.3 | 51.4 |
| DL Bryson Eason | 53.4 | 23 | 57.8 | 25.3 | 62.5 | 60.0 |
| DL Elijah Simmons | 52.1 | 11 | 55.4 | – | 56.8 | – |
| DL Jayson Jenkins | 34.2 | 7 | 42.6 | – | 58.7 | – |
Will Brooks changed the game with his interception returned 85 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter, giving Tennessee a 17-3 lead after NC State had driven inside the 20 down just a touchdown. The Vols also forced three fumbles and recovered two, playing with a short field much of the second half.
NC State converted its first three third-down attempts, all on its first drive of the game, then went 0-for-12 the rest of the night on third down. Tennessee’s defense held the Wolfpack to just 143 yards of total offense, with 104 passing yards and just 39 rushing yards on 28 attempts.
Tennessee finished with three sacks as a team — one each from Jakobe Thomas, Dominic Bailey and Omarr Norman-Lott — and had 13.0 tackles for loss from a combined 16 players.
