Upon review: 10 things I think I learned from Tennessee's 59-10 win over Ball State

1. The physical growth of the running backs

Jabari Small talked about the need to get stronger and more physical in fall camp. He said it was something he realized in the second half of the Ole Miss game a year ago. Thursday night is only one small sample size, but Small’s touchdown run was one of power. He and the other backs did a good job of their plus 2 mantra meaning they fell forward. The Vol tailbacks didn’t have a negative rushing yard Thursday night and again it’s a small sample size. But Small’s touchdown run and Jaylen Wright’s 1 yard run on 4th down at the end of the first quarter are runs those two backs don’t complete last year. The physicality by Jerry Mack’s group was definitely improved from a year ago. I’m not saying they have an all league guy but they played more physical in finishing runs. The test gets harder next week especially in pass protection. 

2. The pass rush has to improve

Pro Football Focus has Tennessee with 10 hurries and 6 hits on John Paddock. But the Vols didn’t record a sack as Paddock threw for 269 yards. After the interception (can we say too many meetings by the Ball State coaching staff), I thought Paddock settled in pretty well. Ball State did a good job of getting the ball out of his hands quickly, but when they had third and medium plus, Tennessee didn’t get to Paddock. They did force him into some hurried throws thanks to blitzing linebackers. 

The concern is that Tyler Baron was the only defensive end to hit the quarterback. Kurott Garland was credited with a hit and the rest came from linebackers. Much of the off-season talk about Tim Banks’ defense has been improving their ability to get to the quarterback without bringing pressure. That has to improve based off what we saw Thursday night. 

3. It’s definitely Hendon Hooker’s show

Hendon Hooker had to feel like he was playing seven on seven at times Thursday night. Ball State chose basically not to pressure Hooker and drop 8 into coverage. Hooker used his eyes well and worked the field in the passing game. I loved Hooker’s patience. Hooker’s touchdown pass to Walker Merrill was a thing of beauty. A year ago, Hooker would have tucked the ball and run. Instead of taking off with the ball, he kept his eyes up and saw Merrill coming clear in the checkerboard for a touchdown. It was the most obvious sign of Hooker’s growth of anything we saw on Thursday night. 

Pressure will come moving forward, but opportunities for big plays will as well. If there was any knock on Hooker it’s that he was high a couple of times with his throws.

Joe Milton played well in his work which should give him some much needed confidence, but this is Hooker’s team and he was in clear command all night. 

It’s a nice luxury to be returning a quarterback everyone believes in. 

4. Princeton Fant and Jacob Warren are two of the most underrated players on this team

Fant dropped the only ball thrown his way and Warren wasn’t even targeted, but both are invaluable to this team. Both were solid on Thursday night, but I thought Warren was as good as he’s ever been from a physicality standpoint in the run game and in the quick screen game blocking on the perimeter. 

Both do the dirty things few see or talk about. The challenge for Alex Golesh is trying to find a third tight end to spell those two. He hasn’t yet and didn’t Thursday night which is why Fant and Warren staying healthy is a must. 

5. Bru McCoy is going to be a nice weapon 

Josh Heupel said the moment he shared with McCoy that he was eligible was one of the best in his coaching career. It says a lot about the impression McCoy has made on this staff and team since his arrival. It also means McCoy can play a little bit. In his first action since 2020 McCoy had 3 catches for 42 yards. Not huge numbers, but he played 46 clean snaps. He knew where to go and looked pretty comfortable in this offense for his first time playing in it. It was a really nice start for the former 5-star looking for a new start. One would think McCoy is only going to get better and better each week if he stays healthy. He’s big, physical, and has a little wiggle to his game as well. He’s just scratching the surface of his game in this offense. As he grows it’s only going to make things better for Cedric Tillman and Jalin Hyatt. 

6.  I see you Aaron Beasley

Beasley is another guy who looks more physical and obviously got off to a great start Thursday with the pressure on John Paddock on play number 1 to set up the interception. Beasley finished with 7 tackles in 43 snaps and graded out the highest of anyone on PFF who played more than 20 snaps. I will admit I don’t understand all of the PFF parameters for grades, but in rewatching the game, Beasley was very active early in the game as he was around the ball a lot. Juwan Mitchell, if he can find his way to the field, is going to play and is probably more talented than Beasley but having Beasley is a nice luxury as he can play both the inside linebacker spots. A rotation of Banks, Beasley and Mitchell will certainly help keep them fresh and make Tim Banks’ defense more effective. Beasley definitely made his case Thursday night to stay on the field. 

7. Joshua Josephs is going to be a good player

The freshman might not be ready for the big time yet, but he will help this team this fall and will help them more as the year goes along. Josephs showed his burst with his first step multiple times on Thursday night. On more that one occasion, Joseph didn’t make the play but made the running back run sideways to try and get to the corner allowing others to get there to make the tackle. Josephs had a PBU using his long wingspan. This coaching staff has been high on Josephs all fall camp and you can see why. He’s far from polished. He needs more time in the weight room, but he has all the tools to be a really good player and he’s a guy who’s going to play a good bit this fall. 

8. Banks defense has to tighten up in the middle of the field 

The Ball State tight ends had fun against the defense on Thursday night working the middle of the field. Zone drops for the linebackers are challenging. I thought they were in decent position but the safeties didn’t wow you and kind of played like they play. A pass rush would help middle of the field coverage, but defensive coordinator Tim Banks has to find some way to tighten up the middle. Pittsburgh’s Kedon Slovis was 10 of 13 between the numbers against West Virginia. He only had 10 attempts outside the numbers. You can bet that the Panthers’ offense will work the middle of the field Saturday afternoon. Safety was the last position Banks and Willie Martinez subbed for on Thursday so no change is coming there, but I did like how Wesley Walker showed up some at the star position. He worked some in fall camp at safety. What does Tennessee’s best five in the secondary look like?

9. Kamal Hadden is the Vols best corner

Heading into fall camp, Austin and I both said on multiple podcast that Hadden would be a starter at corner. He got hurt the first week of camp and has been slow to recover so he played limited snaps on Thursday but he is indeed Tennessee’s best corner. Ball State went at Hadden four times and he gave up one reception and he had an interception. He is athletic, he’s long and he can run. It’s going to be hard to keep him out of the line up if he is healthy. Hadden only played 16 snaps on Thursday and he had 3 tackles and an interception. Meanwhile Warren Burrell gave up 6 receptions on 11 targets and Christian Charles gave up 4 catches on 4 balls thrown his way. Hard to not see Hadden in the starting line up soon. 

10. Now it truly begins

Upon re-watching the game, I quickly got caught up in watching what individuals were doing because nothing Thursday night has any real bearing on playing Pitt. Ball State dropped 8 into coverage all night. Pitt won’t. The Panthers will be extremely exotic on third down with their front seven and pressure package. Pitt recorded 4 sacks in the Backyard Brawl. Now that means more opportunities for big plays for Hendon Hooker. Ball State simply wasn’t going to let the ball get thrown over their head. Pitt will gamble and trust their defensive backs some. The Pitt offense has a bunch of veterans up front. They struggled to run the ball against West Virginia which was a bit of a surprise and they gave up 6 sacks. Can Tennessee find their pass rush Saturday afternoon and can they protect Hendon Hooker. We didn’t learn a lot about either Thursday night.