MOORE TAKES CARE OF BUSINESS
When Gaston Moore took control of the Tennessee offense in the second half, the Volunteers had confidence the redshirt senior would get the job done.
“I think you know everybody really had confidence,” offensive lineman Cooper Mays said. “There wasn’t a huge huddle per se, but I think everybody was communicating, talking and affirming each other, making each other feel more confident. Like we said, we believe in Gaston, we know he’s been ready for this so we were all good.”
Moore directed the offense to score 13 points in the second half as the Vols were able to use a four-minute style offense to grind out the win.
“It’s good to see him go out in the way that we know he can, smart decision maker, aggressive when it was time, controlled everything from play calls, checks,” Tennessee Head Coach Josh Heupel said. “He did a really good job. When the guys found out he was going in, they were excited for him. They believe in him, so they went out and played the way they needed to (in order) to make his job easier for him.”
The Volunteers will continue to have confidence Moore is ready when called upon.
“I think the biggest thing is we had a lot of confidence in Gaston,” Mays said. “We didn’t really skip a beat mentally or physically, so yeah just next guy up mentality and I think Gaston’s been ready for that all year.”
Nico Iamaleava is expected to be ready to play next Saturday as the Vols travel to Georgia. Iamaleava was held out for a cautionary measure in the second half.
SAMPSON CONTINUES TO OUTSTANDING SEASON
Dylan Sampson keeps on rolling for the Tennesee offense.
A week after the junior set the program record for most touchdowns in a single season, Sampson hit another pair of big miles in the win over Mississippi State.
Sampson finished with a career-high 149 yards and surpassed 1,000 yards for the season and 2,000 yards in his career.
Late in the second quarter, Sampson left the game was an apparent injury but came back in the second half.
CARTER DELIVERS IN SPECIAL TEAMS, DEFENSIVE EFFORT
Boo Carter took advantage of his opportunities on Saturday night.
The freshman out of Chattanooga nabbed his first career interception against Mississippi State in addition to handling punt return duties for the Vols. Carter tallied 56 return yards including a long of 28.
“Boo is dynamic, athletic, and just as a young player just how he is continuing to grow where you trust everything that goes into as a returning because it’s essentially the quarterback back there, commanding and controlling the defense and being a decision maker,” Heupel said. “Just continuing to grow. You saw tonight man, he’s dynamic with it in his hands, so it was awesome to get that from him tonight. Boo is a young player that is continuing to get better in all areas. I’m really proud of what he has done in his short amount of time here.”
For the Tennessee coaching staff, Carter’s consistency and effort on the practice field led to the performance.
“I think I said to you guys earlier in the week, but you just keep stacking days and weeks,” Heupel said. “It doesn’t always happen when you want it to happen, but it will happen. I think Boo’s consistency over the last month has really gained the trust from everybody on our staff. For him to go operate and do what he did tonight. That was just natural.”