Tennessee Volunteers

Tennessee Football Smokey Points: Top 5 Vols Who Performed vs the Kentucky Wildcats

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

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Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers tight end Jason Croom (18) congratulates Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) after Hobbs scored a touchdown against the Kentucky Wildcats during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

There were lots of great Tennessee football players in their 49-36 win over the Kentucky Wildcats Saturday. Here are the top five Volunteers from the game.

Talk about a heck of an offensive clinic. Lots of Tennessee football players deserve credit for quelling the momentum of Mark Stoops and Kentucky on Saturday.

They also deserve credit for getting their team back on track.

And all of a sudden, in the process, the Vols are one weekend away from retaking control of their own destiny in the SEC East race. All they have to do is beat the Missouri Tigers and have the Florida Gators lose to the LSU Tigers on the road.

That’s not a guarantee, but it’s a great chance.

However, if they’re going to do that, they will have to play a lot better defense than they did on Saturday. It was the Tennessee football offense that carried this team, and those players deserve to be recognized.

As we give credit to the stars who put on an amazing highlight reel in this game, though, it’s important to note that some of the defenders do deserve credit.

There were two big standout playmakers that we have to name on that side of the ball.

The other three, however, come from the Tennessee football offense. While two of those players clearly belonged, it was hard to pick the final player.

So when we rank our Top Five Vols from Saturday who deserve helmet stickers, four are obvious. The fifth guy to earn Smokey Points was tricky.

But here’s a look at all of them. These are the top five Tennessee football performers from Saturday.

Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers wide receiver Josh Malone (3) catches a pass against Kentucky Wildcats safety Marcus McWilson (15) during the third quarter at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Malone

Wide Receiver, Junior

After being silent for a few weeks, Josh Malone has finally returned to form over the past two. He had a great game against Tennessee Tech two Saturdays ago and came right back this past Saturday with a huge performance against the Kentucky Wildcats.

Malone finished with four receptions for 92 yards and a touchdown. And he came away with key plays.

After the Vols gave up a touchdown early to the Wildcats, Malone got the Tennessee football offense in rhythm with a quick 10-yard reception. He then sparked another touchdown drive to help them extend their lead to a touchdown late in the second quarter.

And then, with Kentucky threatening in the second half and cutting the lead to five points, he broke the game open with a 51-yard touchdown reception. Malone has returned to being a huge game-changer for Tennessee football, and every one of his catches was a huge impact play.

For that, he belongs on our list as one of the top five Vols performers from Saturday afternoon. Sure, there were guys like Ethan Wolf who also helped a lot in the passing game, but Malone showed once again why he is such a valuable target.

Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; General view during the first half of the game between the Kentucky Wildcats and Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Derek Barnett

Defensive End, Junior

Once again, Derek Barnett found a way to get on this list. Despite facing double teams all day from the Kentucky Wildcats offensive line, the junior defensive end still managed to be a huge playmaker against a mobile quarterback in Stephen Johnson.

Barnett finished the game with another sack. That was part of five overall tackles he had and one and a half tackles for a loss.

And this was a down game for him! The guy was drawing double teams all day and had plays designed to run away from him.

But he still managed to get in on the action. In addition to his sack, Barnett also forced at least three bad throws with impressive hurries, even if he only got credit for one of them.

Now, the junior has 10 sacks on the season, all in SEC games, and he is only two sacks away from tying Reggie White’s Tennessee football record for career sacks. That record currently stands at 32, and White needed an amazing 15-sack senior year to get it.

We didn’t think that Barnett could get better after his first two years. Well, this year, he got better. It showed on Saturday. He continues to be exciting to watch.

Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Alvin Kamara (6) reacts after scoring a touchdown against the Kentucky Wildcats during the fourth quarter at Neyland Stadium. Tennessee won 49 to 36. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Alvin Kamara

Running Back, Junior

Welcome back Alvin Kamara! After dealing with injuries dating back to the Texas A&M Aggies game, the junior running back returned with a bang on Saturday.

The Tennessee football passing attack may have been what got the offense going. But the rushing attack is what kept it there. John Kelly certainly helped with an impressive rushing performance, but Kamara was the star.

He finished with 10 carries for 128 yards and two touchdowns. Both touchdowns came in the second half alone, when he had just four carries for 69 yards.

Kamara showed himself once again to be a big-play guy, as he broke off runs of 39 yards, 29 yards, 16 yards, and 17 yards.

The 39 yard run could have been a 95-yard touchdown run if he didn’t take the wrong angle in the open field. But even so, Kamara was a star for the Tennessee football offense and helped carry it to over 300 yards rushing on the day.

Without Jalen Hurd, he now really has a chance to assert himself as a superstar in the offense. And with the offensive line finally blocking the way it should, there is no telling just how impressive he could look closing out the season.

Saturday was an impressive start in his return.

Nov 12, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats quarterback Stephen Johnson (15) during the first half against the Tennessee Volunteers at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Corey Vereen

Defensive End, Senior

For the first time in maybe the entire season, Derek Barnett was not the biggest star for the Tennessee football defense. Against the Kentucky Wildcats, he was not even the biggest star on the defensive line or among the defensive ends.

That title rests with the guy who played opposite of him, Corey Vereen.

The senior defensive end has faced a ton of pressure to make plays all year with teams focusing so heavily on Barnett. And he has made sure to do his part when that happens.

That was never truer than it was Saturday.

With the Wildcats using their mobile quarterback in Stephen Johnson to run away from Barnett and torch the Vols’ linebackers in the rushing game, Vereen was the guy to save the day. He finished the game with five tackles, three tackles for a loss, and two huge sacks.

Butch Jones and Bob Shoop were able to prove to the world that their defensive line remains elite even if people do focus on Barnett. And that is thanks to Vereen.

Despite all the injuries up front, all the fatigue at the defensive tackle position, and guys still returning to health at linebacker, Vereen is able to do his part to free up Barnett by letting people know that they can’t ignore him.

It worked to perfection on Saturday.

Nov 5, 2016; Knoxville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) during the first quarter against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Joshua Dobbs

Quarterback, Senior

Well Joshua Dobbs has returned to form. While it’s still hard to forgive him for what happened against the South Carolina Gamecocks, and although he struggled with accuracy at times on Saturday, Dobbs still proved himself to be the warrior who can rack up tons of stats very quickly.

This was another five-touchdown performance by Dobbs. Despite a slow start on the first drive, he finished 11 of 17 for 223 yards and three touchdowns with only one interception.

He then added 14 carries for 147 yards to lead the team in rushing with another two touchdowns.

That’s 370 total yards with five total touchdowns and over 10 and a half yards per carry. Dobbs finished with a QBR of 96.4, which was an amazing stat.

But more than the numbers, Dobbs deserves credit for continuing to stay poised throughout the game.

Once again, Tennessee fell behind after he had a bad first drive and Kentucky marched down the field for a touchdown.

After that, he responded with a quick touchdown drive of his own, which included a 41-yard run and a perfect pass to Josh Smith.

Then, he showed how great he is at improvising in the second half after checking off of a flea flicker to make sure it properly got to Josh Malone for a touchdown.

The guy is simply a great college quarterback and just the type of leader Tennessee football needs down the stretch of this season. He showed it again last Saturday.