Tennessee vs NC State Defensive Report Card

How Tennessee's defense graded after their performance against the NC State Wolfpack.

Sep 7, 2024; Charlotte, North Carolina, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman James Pearce Jr. (27) during pregame activities against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at the Dukes Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

How Tennessee's defense graded after their performance against the NC State Wolfpack.

The Tennessee Volunteers had a great showing against a now former top 25 program in North Carolina State as the Vols and the Wolfpack clashed at the Duke’s Mayo Classic. The Vols walked away with a 51-10 win over NC State thanks to a great defense as they didn’t allow a touchdown all game and the only touchdown the Wolfpack had was from a great defensive play.

Below are the position group grades following the dominant performance all around.

Defensive Line: A+
We are kicking off this report card addition with a great grade as the defensive line was the heart of this defense. This defensive line only gave up 39 yards on 28 carries which is only 1.4 yards per carry. That is an amazing job up front stopping the run. The defensive line also had two sacks on the game one from Dominic Bailey and the other from Omarr Norman-Lott. As for the tackles for losses category, the Vols’ defensive line had a great showing with around nine tackles for loss as a collective group. A big moment for this team would be Bailey getting the fumble recovery which played a big part in this group's success.

Linebackers: B
This group was led by super senior Keenan Pili who had four total tackles on the day with one of those tackles being a solo tackle and being in on a tackle for a loss. He is the captain of this defensive and did a great job flying to the ball instead of the ball coming to him. As for his counterpart, Arion Carter looked good as well with two solo tackles and three total tackles as he also totaled 1.5 TFLs. Jeremiah Telander also recovered a fumble which was another big moment for this defense. Not too many tackles but that isn’t always a bad thing and that’s why I’m going with a B here.

Defensive Backs: B
This group struggled early on as Wolfpack star Kevin Concepcion had an active first drive gaining multiple catches to put on his stat-line however it quickly mellowed out as the Vols adjusted well. One of the biggest plays if not the biggest of the whole game was when Will Brooks picked Grayson McCall off and took it 85 yards for a touchdown. Another big play for the Vols was when Jakobe Thomas had a huge sack to force a punt. This team did struggle a bit in the passing game however we did see some bright spots. The biggest upside here was holding Concepcion to 53 yards following the great first drive he had. Not a bad game for the DBs whatsoever and I’m sure all Tennessee fans are hopeful this group continues to play like this if not better.

Other Tennessee News:

• Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel Previews Matchup vs NC State
• Tennessee Volunteers Look Like True College Football Contenders
• Josh Heupel Updates Tennessee Injury Report - Rickey Gibson Available vs NC State

Join the Community:

You can follow us for future coverage by clicking "Follow" on the top right-hand corner of the page. Also, be sure to like us on Facebook @VolunteerCountry & follow us on Twitter at @VCountryFN.