Snap Counts: Breaking down Tennessee’s personnel in 29-16 loss at Florida

Tennessee was missing multiple rotation players in the 29-16 loss to Florida Saturday night at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville.

Cooper Mays missed his third straight game to start the season after undergoing surgery on August 9. Gerald Mincey played only on special teams after rotating at right tackle through the first two games, sophomore Dylan Sampson was not in the rotation at running back and senior cornerback Doneiko Slaughter was also out.

Tennessee coach Josh Heupel talked all week like Mays would be available for the Vols at Florida, but the senior center missed his third straight game to start the season. He dressed and went through pregame warmups before ultimately being sidelined.

“Just wasn’t available tonight at the end of it,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference. “Didn’t feel like he was in a position to play his best football.”

Mincey had split time with Jeremiah Crawford in the first two games, but wasn’t in the offensive line rotation in Gainesville. Heupel said during his postgame press conference the Vols had “just made a decision to go with JJ (Crawford).” It was reported Sunday that Mincey was cited Thursday for simple possession. He only played on special teams against Florida.

Heupel didn’t offer any details on Slaughter’s absence.

“Doneiko wasn’t available,” Heupel said.

Here’s a closer look at Tennessee’s personnel in the loss to Florida, via Pro Football Focus:

Tennessee Offense

PlayerSnapsRT Jeremiah Crawford66RG Javontez Spraggins66LG Andrej Karic66WR Ramel Keyton66QB Joe Milton66LT John Campbell Jr.66WR Bru McCoy66C Ollie Lane57WR Squirrel White51RB Jaylen Wright41TE McCallan Castles37TE Jacob Warren29RB Jabari Small25WR Dont’e Thornton15C Dayne Davis9

Milton completed 20 of 34 passes for 287 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He rushed five times for six yards.

Wright led Tennessee on the ground with 63 yards on 16 rushes. Small had seven rushes for 35 yards. Sophomore Dylan Sampson was not in the rotation after rushing 16 times for 60 yards and three touchdowns over the first two games of the season.

McCoy caught five passes for 94 yards, including a 55-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. Wright caught four passes out of the backfield for 21 yards. White had three catches for 68 yards, including a 43-yarder, and Thornton had three catches for 53 yards, with a long of 43. Keyton caught three passes for 39 yards and had an 11-yard touchdown on Tennessee’s opening drive.

Tennessee Defense

PlayerSnapsS Jaylen McCollough71S Wesley Walker71LB Aaron Beasley70CB Kamal Hadden60CB Gabe Jeudy-Lally60LB Elijah Herring53CB Tamarion McDonald50LE Roman Harrison42LE Tyler Baron41DT Omarr Norman-Lott39RE James Pearce Jr.37DT Omari Thomas34DT Kurott Garland31DT Bryson Eason30LB Arion Carter19CB Brandon Turnage18RE Dominic Bailey16LE Tyre West14CB Rickey Gibson III11CB Warren Burrell11LB Kalib Perry3

Beasley led Tennessee with eight tackles, including one tackle for loss. Hadden and Herring had seven tackles each, with Hadden recording 0.5 tackles for loss and Herring getting one tackle for loss. Jeudy-Lally, McCollough and Eason had four tackles each. Jeudy-Lally and McCollough had one tackle for loss each and Eason had 1.5 TFLs and one sack. Pearce had three tackles, with two tackles for loss.

Tennessee’s defense gave up 20 points in the second quarter, allowing Florida to take control while the Gators went 7-for-8 on third down.

Florida finished with 349 total yards, with 183 rushing yards and 166 passing yards. Graham Mertz completed 19 of 24 passes for 166 yards and a touchdown and Trevor Etienne carried 23 times for 172 yards and a touchdown. The Gators had 37 minutes, 34 seconds in time of possession, leaving Tennessee with just 22 minutes, 17 seconds.

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