Scouting Report: Austin Peay
On September 9th, the Tennessee Volunteers have their week two matchup against the Austin Peay Governors. It is the home opener for the Vols inside of Neyland Stadium. Looking at previous times the Governors and Volunteers met, there has just been one time when they have previously played. It was former Tennessee head coach Butch Jones' debut in 2013. The Vols won that game 45-0, with then-starting quarterback Justin Worley having three touchdown passes.
The Governors are coming off a week one loss to Southern Illinois by a score of 49-23. SIU held Austin Peay to just three points through three-quarters of play. By the end of the third, the score was 41-3 in favor of the Salukis. However, the fourth quarter of the game saw lots of scoring and offense from the Governors. Quarterback Mike DiLiello had both of his touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. He would finish the day with 214 yards passing on a 59% completion rate.
The Governors have two young wide receivers who had great games in week one. Sophomore Kam Thomas finished the day with 72 yards and a touchdown reception, and redshirt freshman Kenny Odom finished with 66 yards and a touchdown reception.
Those two and the connection with DiLiello look like the bread and butter of Austin Peay's offense, especially since their run game did not look on par against Southern Illinois. The running back group and DiLiello combined for 39 total yards in week one. The strength of the team thus far is the air attack, which will create a good opportunity for the Tennessee secondary to show what they can do after being a big question mark all offseason. The Vols and Governors are scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. E.T. The game will also be televised on SEC Network+/ESPN+.
Austin Peay RB Jevon Jackson
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