Pro Football Focus grades and snap counts from Tennessee's 28-18 win over Kentucky
Grades and snap counts from Pro Football Focus in Tennessee’s 28-18 win over Kentucky Saturday night at Neyland Stadium:
Tennessee Offense
| Player | Overall PFF Grade | Snap Count |
| Nico Iamaleava | 90.1 | 84 |
| Miles Kitselman | 74.2 | 53 |
| Dylan Sampson | 69.2 | 64 |
| Bru McCoy | 66.8 | 51 |
| Peyton Lewis | 66.7 | 17 |
| Jackson Lampley | 63.2 | 19 |
| Holden Staes | 62.5 | 50 |
| Chas Nimrod | 61.2 | 25 |
| Nathan Robinson | 60.0 | 1 |
| Jaxson Moi | 60.0 | 1 |
| Dont’e Thornton Jr. | 59.5 | 48 |
| Cooper Mays | 59.2 | 84 |
| Mike Matthews | 58.9 | 20 |
| DeSean Bishop | 58.7 | 3 |
| Javontez Spraggins | 58.6 | 78 |
| John Campbell Jr. | 58.6 | 59 |
| Chris Brazzell | 54.5 | 47 |
| Andrej Karic | 54.4 | 71 |
| Ethan Davis | 54.3 | 13 |
| Squirrel White | 54.3 | 27 |
| Dayne Davis | 51.1 | 25 |
| Lance Heard | 47.2 | 84 |
Nico Iamaleava overcame a couple big drops — Chris Brazzell dropped what would have been a touchdown in the first half and Chas Nimrod dropped what looked like another big-play touchdown in the second half — to throw for 292 yards and a touchdown while completing 28 of 38 passes. He converted twice on third-and-7 in the second half, leading Tennessee on a touchdown drive to build the lead to 28-18 in the fourth quarter.
Iamaleava also scrambled right and improvised with tight end Miles Kitselman on his touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Dylan Sampson rushed 27 times for 141 yards and two touchdowns, scoring touchdowns No. 18 and No. 19 on the season to become Tennessee’s new single-season rushing touchdown record holder. Gene McEver set the previous mark with 18 rushing touchdowns during the 1929 season.
Freshman Peyton Lewis carried eight times for 24 yards and scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the second quarter, his first career touchdown and Tennessee’s first points in the first half since the 25-15 win at Oklahoma. He replaced DeSean Bishop as the backup running back after Bishop was lost to injury in the first half.
Kitselman led the Vols with six receptions for 97 yards and at touchdown. Bru McCoy caught five passes for 56 yards and Dont’e Thornton had five catches for 36 yards. Nimrod had three catches fro 45 yards and tight end Holden Staes had three catches for 27 yards.
Top 10
- 1Hot
Ben Herbstreit
Kirk Herbstreit asks for prayers
- 2
USC makes QB change
Trojans to start Jayden Maiava
- 3
DJ Lagway injury
Billy Napier shares encouraging update on Florida QB
- 4New
Franklin defends Kelce
PSU coach approves viral phone smash
- 5
Gundy rips haters
OSU coach obliterates critics
Tennessee Defense
| Player | Overall PFF Grade | Snap Count |
| Joshua Josephs | 79.0 | 39 |
| Jalen Smith | 78.3 | 34 |
| James Pearce Jr. | 77.3 | 39 |
| Andre Turrentine | 75.6 | 26 |
| Omari Thomas | 71.0 | 28 |
| Daevin Hobbs | 70.7 | 18 |
| Bryson Eason | 69.4 | 30 |
| Boo Carter | 68.9 | 44 |
| Will Brooks | 67.5 | 50 |
| Elijah Simmons | 67.3 | 16 |
| Jalen McMurray | 66.3 | 28 |
| Caleb Herring | 64.3 | 6 |
| Jayson Jenkins | 64.2 | 14 |
| Dominic Bailey | 63.9 | 42 |
| Christian Harrison | 63.4 | 16 |
| Omarr Norman-Lott | 63.0 | 18 |
| Jeremiah Telander | 62.9 | 37 |
| Jermod McCoy | 62.8 | 67 |
| Rickey Gibson | 61.5 | 47 |
| Jordan Ross | 60.8 | 2 |
| Kalib Perry | 59.8 | 19 |
| Arion Carter | 59.7 | 63 |
| Jaxson Moi | 57.2 | 17 |
| Tyre West | 54.9 | 15 |
| Jakobe Thomas | 45.6 | 37 |
| Christian Charles | 35.6 | 29 |
Sophomore linebacker Arion Carter led Tennessee with 10 tackles and had one quarterback hurry. Redshirt freshman linebacker Jalen Smith had nine tackles and defensive back Rickey Gibson had six.
Joshua Josephs forced a fumble on a strip sack, leading to a Tennessee touchdown drive, and Will Brooks returned an interception 67 yards to the Kentucky 10-yard line to set up another score.
Tennessee’s defense finished with three tackles for loss and three sacks with one each from Josephs, Omari Thomas and James Pearce Jr.
Kentucky had 360 total yards, running for 168 yards on 37 attempts (4.5 yards per carry) and completing 14 of 27 passes for 192 yards. The Wildcats had three turnovers in the loss, went 4-for-14 on third down and was 0-for-2 on fourth down.
