VolReport: Reacting to Tennessee football's dominating win over Chattanooga

hello and welcome to inside nean stadium I'm Ryan syia this is Noah Taylor and we are with bort. comom in the rivals Network and Tennessee just took care of business against Chattanooga wasn't wasn't much of a contest tene kind of jumped on him early final score is going to be 69-3 in favor of the vs quick stat breakdown team wise total yards 717 for Tennessee on 90 R plays just 227 for chattan nuk on 59 R plays and pretty pretty good portion of that was in the second half for Chattanooga as well under 100 yards in the first half for Chattanooga the rush pass split on the ground 300 yards on the dot for Tennessee on 46 rushes 74 yards for Chattanooga and through the air 417 on the day most of them from Nico in that first half we'll get to him soon for Tennessee 477 yards and a 153 for Chattanooga let's talk about Nico though his statline record-breaking the most in any half in Tennessee football history from a quarterback uh in pass yards with 313 22 for 28 throwing the ball three touchdowns two of them to Dante Thorton one of them to the tight end Ethan Davis along of 59 and takes one sack what were your thoughts on his performance yeah all we've heard since really since the bowl game practices from Josh hyp was Nico's command of the offense and I mean he showed it today spread the ball around you see some of the guys he was able to hit um you know obviously Dante leads that group but but Brew in his first game back from an injury got you know got some you know targets as well took advantage of those um obviously you mentioned Ethan Davis there I think too the the way how quickly Tennessee was able to score under you know when ni was in the game uh I know it's Chattanooga I know it's game one but uh I think that was something that was one of the biggest drop offs from last year offensively with Joe Milton was you weren't doing those quick hits like Tennessee was able to do longest drive of the game I think was was in the fourth quarter when Jake merklinger was in there and they went seven minutes so uh a lot of you see a lot of very quick uh you know drives and reminiscent of what Tennessee was going to do a few years ago again like I said Chattanooga obviously you got to look at the opponent but a very good start for nicoo y Malave is now Tennessee is an unquestioned leader of this offense I I don't think you can really complain there's a couple throws maybe he wants back but at the end of the day you complete 22 of 28 passes which honestly I didn't expect him to to go out and throw that much but clearly they wanted to kind of see what Nico had in this type of game setting against a different opponent and and in that bll game setting and he came through I mean you set a record I mean what what more could you really ask for uh Mo wanted a little bit more out of himself Jos Hy went a little bit more out of them of course that's kind of you know Athletics like that that's competition is you're never satisfied he talked about uh Josh Hy didn't get any specific been Nico talking about maybe that two-minute drill that we were doing at the end of that first half things stalled out Tennessee ends up uh with nothing on the board after it maybe that could be something that that's sharpened up and it'll be something that needs to be sharpened up when you get into SEC player or when you get into next week get CC state who yeah sure they struggled against Western Carolina but that's still a solid team and a team that Tennessee is going to have to go out and play good football against maybe you do need points in a two-minute situation well then that's something that's got to get sharpened up let's talk about the receivers though I think the two Headliners Dante thoron and Drew McCoy Dante thoron catches two of the touchdowns uh he finishes with just three receptions 105 yards uh he had that long of 59 from Nico and brw McCoy got you six balls he's got 88 yards took a rush for nine yards as well BR McCoy off of injury has a nice game and also Dante Thorton off of injury what were your thoughts on just the receiving game as a whole yeah I mean two guys that you that you expected big things especially Brew obviously this year coming in a guy that's obviously you know done some really good things for Tennessee you go back to that 2022 season and you kind of expected him to take a huge leap once Cedric Tilman and Jaylen Hy were gone obviously that injury derailed it you were kind of curious about what would he look like coming back from injury would he be a little bit hesitant to you know make contact and things like that you didn't see that at all today you know really uh some strong play from him after the catch I thought along the sideline um was very consistent when the ball was thrown his way which is what you expect he was that way you know when he did get targeted in 2022 and he was fully healthy uh but then Dante Thorton you know Josh hypo talked about it in there and we talked about it in Fall Camp obviously with him but you know a guy that didn't really fit in well you know to start his career here as a transfer from Oregon hpel talk about you know putting him on the inside and and had a kind of necessity last year but then you saw going in late in the season he was Finding kind of his rhythm there on the outside and you know you're kind of curious about what that would look like now when I of these back to full strength and man that that's a really good uh start for him if you're expecting to to a lot out of him this year I mean you couldn't ask for a better better way to come back after injury BR mcord was interesting cuz like the first couple times he catches maybe a screen or a pass over the middle and he almost hold your breath you're like is everything okay but then by like the fourth or fifth time it was like okay I I guess this is bucoy is good he's good to go of course that's what the coaches have been telling us and that's what other players and brw McCoy has been telling us but it is different to see it inside NE stadium in an actual game to like be like okay like he he is fine he because that that was a tough injury like that's not an injury that everyone can come back from at 100% well brw McCoy honestly it's Chattanooga but looks better than ever in one game uh so we'll see how that progresses throughout the season we we keep saying it's Chattanooga so you don't want to put too much stock into it but I thought that was a really a strong showing from Brew McCoy and just the whole wide receiver room even when those guys started to come off the field and maybe you got a little deeper into that rotation things still looked really strong as well with the tight ends kitselman the first guy on the field Ethan Davis catching some uh or catches that touchdown and then uh Holden stays gets in there as well so that that Trio of tight ends got some work into last thing on offense I I want to touch on what we'll stick with kind of the skill position guys today that offensive line I think did their job for the most part Lance herd gives up a sack maybe sort of miscommunication or something it seemed like a weird play there but kind of free runner gets Nico that's the only time niik sacked outside of that I thought the offensive line especially that front or that that first unit did a good job maybe uh some some things down the list uh that you want to clean up but that that first five including Andre Carrick who gets the start at left guard I I thought uh did did a fine job considering the opponent Dylan Samson another great opener for him think back to Virginia a year ago when he scores four touchdowns three on the ground one through the air doesn't reach that point uh but also didn't play as much just played in the first half and he gets three touchdowns on the ground he rushes for 124 yds in 12 carries three touchdowns like I said along of 56 where he kind of scampered down that sideline got pushed out just before the goal line and then punched it in the next play for that that two-play I think 59 yd drive for all from Dylan Samson and he averages my favorite stat from his stat line 10.3 yards per carry so every time he touch the ball is a first down on average in this game for Dylan Samson what are your thoughts not only on Dylan Samson but also just that running back room as well you know it was funny cuz I know we talked a lot about it this week and and last week too when Josh Hyo kind of you talked about cam Seldon you know being cleared for contact and we knew that Dylan Samson had been Limited in Fall Camp of course we got a little more insight into that today after you know talking to him and hypo about just how limited he was in Fall camp and you know the question I I think coming into it was what would that running back room look like you know Dylan Samson cam SEL are healthy but how much do they want to really want to run them how much did just m guy that that the coaching staff has talked a lot about how would he handled you know getting more revs I thought you got a really good balance of both because Dylan Samson obviously you mentioned the opener had another fantastic opener uh today and and and obviously carried the load looked exactly like what you'd expect him to look is now the clear-cut you know leader in that running back's Room cam suin had some really nice runs I thought there was one scoring drive there where I think he you know he had a close to 20 yards on on two runs and then and then deshun Bishop getting it taking making the most of his carries you know almost had that touchdown where he stumbled a little bit up the middle but uh and then obviously you know punching it finally getting that first career touchdown so we were curious about what that room would look like today how limited those guys would be I think you got to see the most out of out of uh cam Seldon that you could and Dylan Samson you got to see a lot of deshun Bishop too I I do think that that was maybe less of a rotation than I imagine especially for Chattanooga though it felt like Dylan Samson was in the game for a lot in that first quarter and maybe that's a sign of what this running back rotation is going to look like they they have Five Guys they say they feel good about but at the beginning of this game it looked like a lot of Dylan Samson and then maybe whenever he needed a blow then you get Cameron Seldon to come in and then after that maybe a little bit of Deshawn Bishop here and there maybe try to ride that hot hand if he gets going like how Dylan Samson was kind of used at the beginning of last year where it's like all right this is the younger guy but if he gets hot we're going to ride him by the end of the year he was one of your kind of feature backs but maybe that's what this is going to be this year is Dylan Samson kind of gets a lot of carries and we see how how kind of much his body can sustain that throughout the season or maybe uh I'm reading too much into it cuz once again Chattanooga and that rotation kind of looks more like it has in the past especially last year when you had that three-headed monster that you were just kind of rotating through but all in all I I agree a nice uh running game from Tennesse even even when you knew that they were running the ball and Chattanooga knew they were running the ball and you had your reserve lineman your reserve running back I felt like they still moved the ball pretty well so that that's a positive sign going forward talk about that defense though who stood out on defense to today uh Tyree West I mean he kind of had the it was the story of the day uh another guy um that you look back into that that Citrus Bowl game back in January that played really well took advantage of uh of kind of his more playing time more reps in that game and it's kind of it's bled over had a really good game today uh gets the two sacks there um I think Force forc the fumble on the one turnover that Chattanooga had offensively um just a really good day from him uh in a Tennessee defensive line that obviously you're expecting a lot of but Rodney Garner Tim Banks they touted that depth a lot in the in the offseason that it's more than just uh you know obviously James Pierce on the other end now you've got you know your book ended by by two guys that showed today uh can play really really well and be a benefit for you he definitely stood out here here's a question may maybe uh I'm putting things together that aren't there but James Pierce Jr comes off an Orange Bowl where he had a really nice performance he's not the starter the next season but he continues to kind of impress as that young season in 23 goes on and by the end of the year he's the James Speers Junior we know now could that be Tyree West he has a really nice Citrus bow he impresses against Chattanooga maybe has a nice game in Cy State and by the end of the year he's that starter not that Dominic Bailey I thought Dominick Bailey had a really nice game as a starter as well but by the end of the year maybe Tyreek West has taken that next level step like James Pierce had am I reading into the similarities too much I mean I think it goes back and we talked about it last week I think it goes back to that Tim Banks quote where he he said you know because of that you know you've seen guys that took advantage of reps late in the year and then take a huge step the next year obviously you know James Pierce was that guy like you just mentioned I mean it it could be it's definitely kind of would fall in line with with what Tennessee's been able to do at that position um and and I mean I I think today's as good of a start as you could ask for and Joshua Joseph too I think ended up with with half a tackle for Ling had a nice game from his limited action we knew coming in how good that defensive line was going to be and we heard how good that depth was going to be this was a game where you really kind of wanted to Showcase that and I think they did yeah secondary wise I think they they did a pretty decent job as well in line backers too I mean I don't think that the linebackers had an insane amount on their plate but I thought they handled their job and in the secondary same situation where uh you were interested on how that young sanor would react Ricky Gibson doesn't play today uh we we will find out more on that soon I'm sure but you you go to Jaylen McMurray thought he did a good job at corner I thought jod McCoy did a good job at corner the safeties from turntine to will Brooks I thought they did nice but the start position of course is what a lot of people are looking at considering that Jordan Thomas wasn't able to go uh this season after his leg injury so you start Christian Harrison bu Carter gets a bunch of reps I think it's still going to be a tough situation for them to kind of pick one and maybe they don't have to pick one maybe you can continue to rotate them in but I thought both guys played really well bu Carter got to the quarterback uh they're Blitz in that star position a lot and then also as the nickel back in coverage I thought both of them did a fine job as well we'll wrap things up quickly special teams you can take your pick you want to talk Max Gilbert or the one Jackson Ross Punk uh I guess Gilbert because there was you know we were kind of wondering what that kicking situation would look like it sounded like he had he had kind of created some separation there late in Fall camp and then comes out to day and obviously not too they weren't high pressure kicks by any means but but at the same time they kind of when you know there's two guys right behind you one of your job of course you're not kicking a game winning field goal against Alabama but that kick needs to go through the absolutely yeah and and to do it twice uh I know the one was was 42 I can't remember what the first one was it in the 30s so so two decently long kicks you know to kind of showcase what you have and like you said they if if it is as close as maybe the coaches were saying it was and it was it was really important for him to to show that he could be reliable in that situation I me if you come out here and you you do what Chattanooga's kicker did and you miss a couple kicks you're probably not the kicker against n state but like that's just kind of the way that kicking position works so uh like like I said it's not you're not Chase McGrath kicking the field goal to beat Alabama it's not that type of pressure but there is a sort of pressure that that goes into that Jackson Ross punting the ball uh one punt didn't didn't go I'm sure as he planned I'm not worried about it he had a bad start last year not that I really didn't even consider this like a bad start cuz you get one rep it's like that's a tough situation to get tossed into but uh o overall one punt didn't go very well but but I I don't think that's anything to read into too much we we'll probably find out Morgan Cy State interesting matchup Western Carolina gave him a run for their money there uh over in Raleigh so we'll have to see how this Tennessee team goes into that matchup in Charlotte and responds to to maybe a team that maybe they're not as good as we thought they were or or maybe they take a step in the right direction and they come out really strong against Tennessee we will find out a week from today we will be there in Charlotte at that neutral site to to see it go down so for coverage leading up to game day for coverage on game day for basketball uh baseball softball everything you need Tennessee athletics we have you covered over at ball report.com links to everything you need is in the description thank you for watching