Quote from Spencer Rattler should leave Tennessee Vols fans with a new appreciation for DC Tim Banks
Leading up to the Tennessee Vols' game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, one of the big storylines was whether or not UT would be able to stop wide receiver Xavier Legette. Legette caught five passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns in South Carolina's win against Mississippi State the previous week. That was Legette's third […]
Leading up to the Tennessee Vols' game against the South Carolina Gamecocks, one of the big storylines was whether or not UT would be able to stop wide receiver Xavier Legette.
Legette caught five passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns in South Carolina's win against Mississippi State the previous week. That was Legette's third time going over 100 yards in 2023 (in just four games).
Despite all the hype, Tennessee managed to hold Legette to five catches for 50 yards (32 of those yards came on South Carolina's fake punt).
After the game, Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler told reporters that Tennessee took Legette away for most of the game.
"They took him away the whole game," said Rattler. "Other than some mesh routes, they were clouding him the whole time, pushing the safety over top so he couldn’t do much. They took him away, and it definitely hurt us. I have to be better finding other guys, they have to step up and I believe in them. We’re going to keep working.”
Wide receiver Juice Wells, who had a massive game against the Vols last year in Columbia, didn't play on Saturday night for South Carolina. And the Gamecocks clearly missed him.
Rattler didn't just point out that Tennessee took away Legette, by the way. The South Carolina quarterback also credited the Vols' scheme and talented D-Line for the havoc they created up front.
“They did a great job schematic-wise," explained Rattler. "They took away some of our best weapons. They limited Legette a lot, and that was a key focus of theirs. We just have to find other guys. They were in good coverage a lot of the time. Their D-line is really talented, twitchy guys. And they had a good scheme.”
The play of the defensive line took some pressure off the secondary, allowing that unit to execute their game plan against Rattler and Legette. It was a great overall team performance from Tennessee's defense in a game where the defense badly needed to rise to the occasion.
Despite the Vols' out-of-rhythm start to the season, they finished September with a 4-1 record and they still have a legitimate chance to win the SEC East — they just can't afford any missteps between now a huge home showdown against Georgia in November.
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