Tennessee’s 42-9 win over Kennesaw State didn’t just close the book on the Vols’ out-of-conference schedule. It also offered one more clean snapshot of where a few key players stand as SEC play approaches.
Some stock climbed fast. Some slipped a little. And in a game like this, the numbers and the eye test lined up in a few important spots.
The clearest winner was right tackle Jesse Perry. According to PFF, no Tennessee player graded out better on the day than Perry, who posted a 92.6 overall mark and a 94.4 grade in the run game.
Beyond the grade, he looked the part. On his snaps at right tackle, he appeared more settled and more in control than at any point in his career.
After adding size and strength this offseason, he used that extra power to overwhelm a lesser opponent. For a Tennessee offensive line that has been uneven early, steady play there would be a major lift.
Running back Daune Morris also made the most of his opportunity. With Javin Gordon and Justin Baker unavailable, the workload was already going to lean on Morris and DeSean Bishop.
Then Bishop went down with an injury, and Morris became the focal point. The sophomore answered with 116 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries, showing off burst, balance in space and enough physicality to finish runs through contact.
If he can hold up in pass protection once SEC play starts, his role should keep growing. He’s currently behind Gordon on the depth chart, but a performance like this puts him in the conversation for the second-string spot behind Bishop.
Arion Carter looked like a linebacker Tennessee can lean on. After returning from suspension against Georgia Tech, he had a game that was solid but not quite at his usual level.
Saturday was a much better reflection of what he can bring. Carter finished with eight tackles, a sack and two tackles for loss, and he stood out both against the run and when attacking the quarterback.
He’s going to keep playing major snaps, and Tennessee will need that level from him in league play.
Tyree Weathersby also kept pushing his case. Tennessee has had more edge depth in past seasons, but with key departures through eligibility and the transfer portal, the opportunity has opened up for someone else to step forward.
Weathersby has taken that chance and run with it. He didn’t record a sack against Kennesaw State, but he was consistently winning his battles at the line of scrimmage, and PFF gave him a team-best defensive grade of 87.8.
For a player who came in with questions, that’s one of the quieter but more meaningful developments of Tennessee’s season so far.
On the other side of the ledger, tight end Cole Harrison saw his path get narrower. He played only three offensive snaps, all of them as a pass blocker late in the game.
That small sample doesn’t tell much about his performance, but the bigger issue is what happened around him on the depth chart. With Ethan Davis out for the season, more snaps seemed likely to open up for Dasaahn Brame and Trent Thomas, who were already in the rotation.
Instead, freshman Luca Wolf got the third role against Kennesaw State, logging 25 snaps and looking good in the process. That could make it tough for Harrison to break through unless another injury changes the picture.
Right tackle Ory Williams also took another step backward. He entered the year projected to start at the position, but Jesse Perry passed him, with Sham Umarov working inside.
When Williams got a chance against Furman, he didn’t deliver the kind of play Tennessee expected. Against Kennesaw State, he logged 15 snaps and did fine overall, but a false start was part of the night.
There’s still time for him to turn things around, but right now he’s sliding farther from the lineup and farther from the kind of role Tennessee likely envisioned for him in 2026.
In Other News...
Texas Coach Just Added More Fuel To Neyland Before Tennessee Showdown
Steve Sarkisian did the Volunteers a favor without meaning to, giving Neyland Stadium another shot of energy before Texas comes to Knoxville. The Longhorns coach called it the loudest stadium in the country ahead of the matchup, and that kind of praise only adds to the atmosphere around a game already carrying plenty of weight, with No. 1 Texas visiting No. 14 Tennessee in the annual Checker Neyland showcase.
The setting figures to be huge even by Tennessee standards, with more than 100,000 seats packed into a noon ET kickoff on ABC and a College GameDay spotlight attached. For the Vols, it is the kind of moment that can turn a September game into a full-scale event, and Sarkisian's comments only sharpen the sense that Texas knows exactly what it is walking into. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Manning Puts Texas-Tennessee GameDay In An Awkward Spot
ESPN is bringing College GameDay to Knoxville ahead of the Sept. 26 matchup between Texas and Tennessee, setting up one of the more intriguing pregame stages of the early season. The backdrop is already loaded for Volunteers fans, with Tennessee hosting a marquee nonconference game and national attention set to descend on campus before kickoff.
The wrinkle is Peyton Manning. The former Tennessee quarterback has made it clear he would back his nephew, Texas quarterback Arch Manning, over his alma mater if asked to choose, and ESPN still has not announced its guest picker. That has left local observers wondering whether Manning would even be the fit for the role, giving GameDay an awkward little subplot before the show has a chance to get rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Peyton Manning Just Gave Vols Fans A Brutal Dilemma
Peyton Manning has always been one of Tennessees most beloved figures, and he made it clear this week that his affection for his alma mater has not changed. Even so, when the Vols meet Texas in a high-stakes SEC matchup, Manning said his family tie pulls him in another direction, since his nephew Arch is on the other sideline. It is the kind of rooting interest that feels impossible for Tennessee fans to hear from one of their own, even with the loyalty to Knoxville still intact.
The game carries plenty of weight on its own, with both teams undefeated and ranked inside the Top 15, but Mannings stance adds another layer to the buildup. It also complicates the usual pregame pageantry around College GameDay, where Manning would have been an obvious draw as the guest picker. Instead, his allegiance to family appears to leave that spot out of play, turning a marquee Saturday into a small but painful reminder of how messy college football can get when bloodlines and school pride collide. [Read more 🡒]