The Tennessee Volunteers had a terrific start to their season, defeating Syracuse 45-26 last Saturday in Atlanta in a game they controlled the majority of the time.
With strong efforts on both sides of the ball, there were plenty of players who stood out and memorable performances.
Here are the top five graded players by Pro Football Focus from the game:
1) DeSean Bishop – 90.6
The highest graded Vol from the game, Tennessee’s “starting” running back looked like he’s set up for success in 2025. He totaled
11carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, but he’s more noticeably built but still quick with the ball in his hands, as evidenced by his 47-yard run. He will be part of a rotation this year, it appears, but he looks like he’ll more than be able to carry his weight when his number his called.
2) Joey Aguilar – 83.0
A terrific first start that, while not perfect, was very encouraging from the first drive. Aguilar went 16 of 28 for 247 yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, a nice stat line to be sure. It would have been significantly better had he not sailed a handful of passes, but that’s something he can work to improve. His athleticism and speed raised my eyebrows as well, as he evaded Cuse defenders for a 25-yard run. That’ll give an aggressive pass rush ahead of man coverage something to think about.
3) Lance Heard – 76.2
Heard allowed two pressures in 31 pass blocking snaps, but Aguilar didn’t go down all game, so kudos to Heard and the entire line for keeping their signal caller well protected. Heard alos notched a run-blocking grade of 74.6, second-highest on the team behind Wendell Moe, so he was solid in his first start in 2025.
4) Star Thomas – 76.1
Thomas logged 24 snaps and turned them into 11 carries for 92 yards. He looked smooth with the ball in his hands. Heupel might eventually tip the handoffs slightly in favor of one player, and Thomas showed he could be that guy. Really liked what he looked like with the ball in his hands and a little bit of space to work with.
5) Ty Redmond – 75.6
With Rickey Gibson III going down, Redmond logged 60 snaps, and he played well. He was credited with 2 passes defended and 4 tackles with no misses. PFF has him allowing 1 catch on 3 targets, but it was for 28 yards. Overall, a strong effort in a pinch, which makes it more impressive. A combination of Redmond, Colton Hood, Jalen McMurray, and Boo Carter appear to be set to lead the way the next little bit with now both Gibson III and Jermod McCoy on the shelf, and all played well (particularly Hood with a 75.4 PFF grade; McMurray 73.8) on Saturday.
