Tennessee Volunteers

Battle at Bristol Smokey Points: Top Five Vols Who Performed vs Hokies

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) celebrates with Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Jauan Jennings (15) after catching a pass for a touchdown against the Virginia Tech Hokies during the second quarter at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Tennessee beat Virginia Tech 45-24 in the Battle at Bristol Saturday. Here are the helmet stickers for the Top five Volunteers performances in the game.

The real heroes from the Battle at Bristol are the Virginia Tech offensive players who kept gift-wrapping touchdowns for the Vols. However, there were plenty of Tennessee football playmakers in their dominant win over the Hokies.

Tennessee fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief after the Vols overcame a 14-point deficit to secure a huge win in the largest college football game in history.

It took key performances from numerous players on both sides of the ball for that dominating performance to happen.

As we get set to hand out our Smokey Points for this game, it’s worth noting that many of the players we are recognizing did not show anything in the first quarter of the game.

The Hokies outcoached, outplayed, and outclassed the Vols in that quarter. And then they dominated the rest of the game.

Lots of players deserve helmet stickers from that point on, and it was hard to narrow it down to just five players.

However, there are a couple players who significantly stood out. So the top two players on this list were easy.

But everybody else was more difficult than expected. Despite only 330 yards by the offense, the game was a complete performance. And the Vols gave fans a good look at their team.

It was certainly an upgrade from their overtime victory over the Appalachian State Mountaineers.

Here are the five Vols who earned Smokey Points against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Battle at Bristol Saturday.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Jalen Hurd (1) runs for a short gain while being tackled by Virginia Tech Hokies defensive back Terrell Edmunds (22) during the first half at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Hurd

Running Back, Junior

We could have made an argument for Jalen Hurd or Alvin Kamara as the top running back in this game. After all, Kamara was the guy who scored the impressive touchdown on third and long and finished with 25 yards receiving and 14 yards rushing.

However, Hurd still gets the points.

He only had 22 carries for 99 yards and no touchdown, but Hurd was still the workhorse. As the Vols’ offensive line struggled to get anything going in the first half, Hurd was the one guy who could consistently pick up yards.

As a result, he belongs on this list. Add in his one reception for one yard, and he once again reached 100 yards.

Hurd constantly shows that whenever anything breaks down, he can still be an efficient running back. The Vols can go to him whenever they need to, and despite all the plays they made in the Battle at Bristol, he was still the reliable workhorse.

That’s enough for us to put him on this list once again as a guy who earned a helmet sticker. Another reason that Hurd is on this list is his pass protection.

Tennessee’s passing game was able to get going because he can block guys who are blitzing. And speaking of their passing game, let’s go to our next guy who earned a Smokey Point this week.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) catches a touchdown against Virginia Tech Hokies defensive back Greg Stroman (3) during the second quarter at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Malone

Wide Receiver, Junior

Josh Malone was a game-changing playmaker for the Vols for the second straight week. Last week, against the Appalachian State Mountaineers, he caught a bomb from Joshua Dobbs and ran it for a touchdown. That tied the game up at 13.

This week, he caught another bomb from Dobbs and ran it in for a touchdown. That tied the game at 14.

Both times, Malone changed the game completely for the Vols. To be fair, Jauan Jennings could have been here as well. After all, he caught the first touchdown pass from Dobbs on a fade pattern.

However, Malone’s play was more impressive and changed the game. And his stats were better overall.

Malone finished the game with two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown. He was once again the top receiver for the Vols, a title he likely will hold in every game the rest of the year.

And as a result, he is a winner of a Smokey Point for the second straight week. Malone is turning into Peerless Price as a wide receiver who can change the game immediately. His game impact per-touch has to be one of the best in the country.

The 6’3″ 200-pound receiver is finally living up to his billing as a former five-star wide receiver from the 2014 Tennessee football recruiting class.

With only two receptions, he put his skills on full display at the Battle at Bristol.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; The Tennessee Volunteers celebrate after the game against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee won 45 to 24. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Jalen Reeves-Maybin

Linebacker, Senior

Yes, the Vols desperately need Jalen Reeves-Maybin out on the field all year. Their defense struggled with misdirection plays the entire game against the Appalachian State Mountaineers after his targeting penalty.

However, they adjusted under the direction of Bob Shoop and Butch Jones in the Battle at Bristol. The core difference was Reeves-Maybin being back out on the field.

The senior linebacker finished with 13 total tackles and one and a half tackles for a loss. But Reeves-Maybin’s impact can’t just be seen on the stats sheet.

Reeves-Maybin is also the quarterback of the defense. Against an elite coach in Justin Fuente with a talented quarterback in Jerod Evans, Reeves-Maybin was the guy making sure everybody stayed in position.

Fuente’s love with East/West plays gave the Vols serious trouble early. But Reeves-Maybin was able to adjust and work with the rest of the defense to keep everybody in position.

As a result, he gets to be on this list despite a lack of eye-popping stats. The biggest thing you can take away from this game when it comes to Reeves-Maybin is that he knows how to be in on every play.

For an outside linebacker, he sure acts like a middle linebacker.

And that could be why Shoop and Jones love him. His direction also helped put the next player on this list.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers defensive lineman Kendal Vickers (39) celebrates after a sack during the second half at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee won 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Kendal Vickers

Defensive Tackle, Junior

Kendal Vickers has turned into one of the greatest development stories in Tennessee football history. He committed to the Vols as a three-star defensive end over three years ago.

Despite being undersized, he immediately began the process of putting on weight to move over to defensive tackle. In the process, he sat on the bench for two years, redshirting one year.

Then, as a redshirt sophomore in 2015, he got up to 295 pounds and worked his way into the rotation. Now, the 6’3″ 295-pound redshirt junior is not just a rotation player; he’s a key player on the Vols’ line.

Vickers made a name for himself more than anybody on the line at the Battle at Bristol and was the top defensive player for the unit. After struggling at first, he thrived off of Bob Shoop’s adjustments.

And Vickers was the guy getting off cut blocks against Justin Fuente’s misdirection plays. He helped to blow up everything Jerod Evans did, which played a role in Virginia Tech having five fumbles.

In fact, Vickers forced one of those fumbles. He also had four total tackles and a sack. But his biggest accomplishment was closing off lanes for the Virginia Tech running game.

That got the defense going, and for that he is one of the top performers from the Battle at Bristol.

Sep 10, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) celebrates after a win against the Virginia Tech Hokies at Bristol Motor Speedway. Tennessee won 45-24. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Joshua Dobbs

Quarterback, Senior

He may frustrate you with his lack of accuracy, questionable decision-making once a game, and inability to throw in the face of pressure. But Joshua Dobbs is a playmaker, and he showed that once again in the Battle at Bristol.

For the third time in his college career, Dobbs had a total of five touchdowns. Sure, he was only 10 of 19 passing for 91 yards. And yes, he had an interception.

But he had three touchdown passes and 106 rushing yards. Also, Dobbs would have had more yards total if he needed to put up more. He often got the short field to work with.

Still, all of his touchdowns were impressive. Down 14-0, Dobbs threw a perfect fade to Jauan Jennings for his first touchdown pass, and then he threw a beautiful deep ball to Josh Malone for his second touchdown pass.

He spotted the Vols a two-score lead with an impressive five-yard touchdown run at the end of the half, and that was on third down. Had he not gotten into the end zone, the Vols would only have kicked a field goal to only go up 20-14.

That broke the game open.

Then, in the second half, he made an amazing move in the pocket to dodge pressure on third and long to hit Alvin Kamara for another touchdown pass and build a three-score lead for the Vols.

He secured a blowout with an impressive 27-yard touchdown run that ended with a leap into the end zone to give the Vols a 38-17 lead.

Dobbs was a playmaker all night, and he was the composed senior quarterback we have been waiting to see. Doing it with all of Butch Jones’s and Mike DeBord’s shuffling of the offensive line made it more impressive.

As a result, he is clearly the player of the game and No. 1 on this list. The Battle at Bristol was the Joshua Dobbs show.

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