UT vs. ASU Halftime Notes

September 06, 2014 | Football

Sept. 6, 2014

Halftime Notes - UT vs. ASU

HALFTIME NOTES & QUOTES

Comments From Coach Jones

(On Justin Worley handling pressure)
"Well, Justin has stepped in the pocket and made some throws for us. He has given us an overall level of consistency. We have put our defense in some poor situations that we have to get corrected through offensive play and special teams."
(On defensive adjustments)
"We have to do a better job tackling when we apply pressure to get [Fredi Knighten] down."

Tennessee Tidbits

VFL Legend Of The Game

VFL Bill Bates (1979-83) was honored in a pregame ceremony before the Arkansas State-Tennessee game as Vols Legend of the Game.
Bates was a second-team All-SEC player during his time at Rocky Top.
He played 43 games racking up 255 tackles in his career before going on to play three Super Bowls with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.
A 1984 NFL Pro Bowl player, Bates enjoyed a 15-year career in Dallas and was inducted into the Greater Knoxville Sports Hall of Fame (2005) as well as named a member of the 100-Year All-Tennessee Team.

Tennessee Captains

#14 Justin Worley, #56 Curt Maggitt, #57 Mack Crowder represented the Vols for the pregame coin toss.

Left Tackle Starter

#63 Brett Kendrick made his first-career start for the Vols at left tackle today, in place of the injured Jacob Gilliam.

Tennessee Debuts Continue

A total of 34 newcomers have now seen action for the Vols in 2014.
#44 Jakob Johnson made his first-career appearance for the Vols on special teams in the first quarter, marking the 22nd true freshman to play for Tennessee this year.
Among the 22 true freshmen to make debuts this season: #1 Jalen Hurd, #3 Josh Malone, #6 Todd Kelly Jr., #7 Rashaan Gaulden, #9 Derek Barnett, #12 Emmanuel Moseley, #17 Dillon Bates, #20 Cortez McDowell, #25 Aaron Medley, #29 Evan Berry, #41 Elliott Berry, #44 Jakob Johnson, #53 Colton Jumper, #55 Coleman Thomas, #8 Dewayne Hendrix, #73 Jashon Robertson, #40 Dimarya Mixon, #4 Vic Wharton, #2 D'Andre Payne, #80 Daniel Helm, #72 Michael Sawyers and #82 Ethan Wolf.
Twelve other newcomers have made their Vol debuts this year: #5 Ryan Jenkins, #5 George Bullock, #9 Von Pearson, #13 Patrick Ashford, #24 Michael Williams, #60 Austin Sanders, #31 Justus Pickett, #42 Chris Weatherd, #58 Owen Williams, #48 Alex Ellis, #59 Matt Giampapa & #63 Brett Kendrick.

Vols Trending

The Vols had the following topics trending on Twitter through the first half: Von Pearson (on two occasions) and Josh Smith.

OFFENSE

Generally Speaking

#14 Justin Worley connected with #9 Von Pearson for the longest completion of his career (56 yards) in the first quarter. His previous career-long completion was in 2013 at Oregon (51 yards). Pearson's previous long reception was 27 yards vs. Utah State on Aug. 31.
Worley began the game 9-of-9 on completions and finished the first quarter 9-of-10 for 94 yards. Last week vs. Utah State, he also had a streak of 13 consecutive pass completions.
Through the first half, Worley is 17-24 for 206 yards with one touchdown passing and one rushing. He is now 44-62 for 479 yards with four touchdown passes and no interceptions on the season.
UT ran 23 plays against the Red Wolves in the first quarter today, and 45 plays by the half. Last week, the Vols ran 49 total plays in the first half vs. Utah State.
#25 Josh Smith hurdled ASU's #3 Rocky Hayes for a 12-yard gain, a key play en route to Tennessee's scoring TD just before the half.
The Vols have had four scoring drives of 70-or-more yards today against the Red Wolves. UT had two scoring drives of 70-or-more yards last week. The last time UT had four scoring drives of 70+ yards was against Akron on Sept. 22, 2012.

How They Scored

#25 Aaron Medley made a 20-yard field goal on the Vols second possession of the game, narrowing Tennessee's deficit to 6-3 against Arkansas State in the first quarter.
#1 Jalen Hurd recorded his second-career touchdown (first rushing) on a four-yard carry in the first quarter, putting the Vols on top 10-6.
Worley connected for a 10-yard touchdown pass to #8 Marquez North in the second quarter. The pass was North's second-career touchdown catch, his first of the season.
With less than three minutes left before the half, Worley ran for his first-career rushing touchdown (five yards), giving the Vols a 23-12 lead.

Spreading It Around

#14 Justin Worley completed passes to seven different receivers in the first half, connecting with: #2 Pig Howard, #8 Marquez North, #9 Von Pearson, #15 Marlon Lane, #18 Jason Croom, #25 Josh Smith, #82 Ethan Wolf.

Seeing Red

After going 6-of-6 in scoring opportunities in the red zone last week, the Vols are 4-for-4 today.
Through the first half, the Vols scored two touchdowns rushing, one passing and one field goal inside the red zone.

DEFENSE

Highlights

#6 Todd Kelly Jr. made his first-career start at strong safety today, in place of #13 Devaun Swafford.
#42 Chris Weatherd made his first-career start at linebacker against Arkansas State.
#34 Jalen Reeves-Maybin recorded his first-career sack for a three-yard loss on Arkansas State quarterback #9 Fredi Knighten in the first quarter. He currently leads the Vols with six tackles today, including two tackles for a loss.
#33 LaDarrell McNeal has been part of five stops in the first half.

Third Down For What?

UT has held Arkansas State to 2-for-8 on third down conversions in the first half.
Conversely, Tennesse was 6-for-9 on third down conversions vs. the Red Wolves.
Last week, Tennessee held Utah State to 3-for-14 on third down conversions.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Generally Speaking

#19 Devrin Young gained 19 yards on the opening kickoff, moving into third place on the all-time kick return list at Tennessee.
#43 Matt Darr punted twice in first half with a 37 yarder on Tennessee's first possession and a 36-yard punt in the second quarter.
#25 Aaron Medley's 20-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter was good, putting him at 2-3 on attempts this season.
Medley is 3-3 today in PATs and improved to 8-8 on the season.
#5 George Bullock started with kickoff duties today, making his first-career appearance for Tennessee. He had two touchbacks in the first half, including his first-ever kick as a Vol.
#24 Michael Williams tackled ASU return man 23 #J.D. McKissic in the open field for a big stop in the first quarter, following Bullock's second kickoff.
UT stopped ASU's two-point conversion attempt late in the second quarter. The Red Wolves also missed their extra-point following their first TD.