KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Velus Jones Jr. and Cedric Tillman each recorded 100-yard receiving game on Saturday while four different players rushed for at least on score in leading Tennessee to a 60-14 non-conference football victory over the University of South Alabama at Neyland Stadium.

Jones Jr. caught six passes for 103 yards while Tillman finished the contest with five receptions for 100 as the Volunteers (6-5) recorded 561 yards of total offense.  Hendon Hooker was 17-of-20 passing for 273 yards and two scores, adding a third on the ground, while Jaylen Wright ran for 83 yards and Jabari Small contributed 73 more with the two combining to score three times.

Jalen Tolbert had 143 yards on seven catches for the Jaguars (5-6), with Desmond Trotter completing 19-of-32 attempts for 216 yards.

The Vols' Jeremy Banks and Keith Gallmon Jr. of South shared game-high honors with seven stops apiece.

Tennessee 60, South Alabama 14 (final stats)
South Alabama/Tennessee photo gallery

GAME FACTS
-UT scored on runs of one yard by Small and 17 yards from Wright to go ahead 14-0 at the end of the first period.
-Hooker threw a pair of touchdown passes while Jones Jr. returned a kickoff 96 yards after Totter found Lincoln Sefcik for a three-yard score to extend the Vol lead to 35-7 at the break.
-The Volunteers recorded 275 yards of total offense and 35 points despite holding the ball for just over eight minutes in the opening half.
-UT had nearly 100 more yards of offense than South in the third quarter, putting together a pair of scoring drives that helped the lead grow to 49-7 with 15 minutes remaining.
-Tolbert doubled South's point total with a 68-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter, but the Volunteers closed out the scoring with a pair of safeties in the final seven minutes.
-The Vols finished with a 286-98 edge in total offense after the break, outgaining the Jaguars by over 250 yards on the night.

NOTES
-This was the Jaguars final non-conference game of the 2021 season.
-It was the second meeting between the two programs, and first since Sept. 28, 2013.
-The contest was also South's first match-up with a Southeastern Conference school since a Sept. 2, 2017, visit to Ole Miss.
-The Vols were the first team to not commit a turnover against the Jags in nearly a year, with Arkansas State the last opponent to turn the trick on Nov. 28 last fall.
-It's the second time this year that Tolbert has posted 100 or more receiving yards in consecutive outings.
-The junior has now paced the Jaguars in the category in each of the last 15 games dating back to last November.
-Sefcik's four touchdown catches this fall are the most by a USA tight end since current Seattle Seahawk Gerald Everett finished with eight during the 2015 campaign.
-Trotter has thrown for multiple scores in two of the last three contests, moving into a tie for third place at South with 27 touchdowns accounted for in his career.
-Jalen Wayne — who had two catches for 20 or more yards in the Jags' previous four games — recorded a pair of receptions for 20-plus in the opening half.
-It was Gallmon Jr.'s highest tackle total since recording seven stops at ULM on Oct. 23, while it marked the first occasion the junior has led the team in the category since posting nine on Oct. 9 at Texas State.
-A.J. DeShazor Jr. was credited with the 200th tackle of his career in the opening quarter.
-Jamal Brooks matched his career-high tackle total set in his Jaguar debut in a season-opening victory over Southern Mississippi, while Yam Banks fell one stop short of equaling his.

THEY SAID IT
South Alabama head coach Kane Wommack
On tonight's game: "We didn't play particularly well tonight.  When we get behind somebody, we play too hesitant on defense right now.  You've got to cut it loose against guys like this.  They were athletic and faster than us, they go very fast, they challenge you and make you make tackles in space.  Right now, we don't have enough guys who can make tackles in space."
On if injuries affected the game plan versus Tennessee: "I think that there are a lot of things that affected our game plan tonight, injuries are part of it for sure.  We are a banged-up football team, absolutely, but I expect us to execute better than that, no matter who's on the field.  At the same time, you give [Tennessee] credit.  I think what [UT coach] Josh Heupel does is really challenging, he forces defenses to tackle in space and to think very quickly.  Defense is inherently reactionary and when you become even more reactionary because you didn't get the call, or you're still trying to get lined up because you don't get your feet in the ground, they take advantage of that.  Injuries are part of the game, but execution and being able to go do our job was the bigger key here tonight."
On moving past the game: "Here's what's nice about our team.  We've built enough of a culture in year one to take a butt-kicking like we took tonight and still be able to stick together.  That to me is a credit to our coaches and players, because they stayed locked in, tried to find a way to get a stop on defense, and to keep trying to find ways to move the ball.  We didn't execute particularly well, but once or twice I've been a part of a game like tonight's that was really played poorly and was one-sided, and teams haven't necessarily handled that very well.  I thought we handled that in a decent way, just from a sideline demeanor.  To me, that gives us an opportunity to go finish well this next week; you take this game and you have to move on from it.  Fortunately, we get to move on from it very quickly.  We've done some really good things this year and we've got to be able to build off the things we did really well and carry that momentum into next Friday's game."

Sophomore QB Desmond Trotter
On the game: "We came out with the plan of trying to hold the ball because Tennessee plays very fast on offense, we tried to help our defense have less possessions on the field.  I feel like we were able to get that done a little bit, but we didn't do it enough.  We're going to learn from this.  We did a lot of good things [offensively], sometimes you just don't come out on the right side."
On Friday's opportunity to gain bowl eligibility with a win against Coastal Carolina: "It's a quick turnaround for us.  For some of our seniors, it will be their last guaranteed game.  I just want to go out there and do what I can to help us get a bowl berth."

Up next: South Alabama will celebrate Senior Day when Coastal Carolina visits Hancock Whitney Stadium at 2:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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