Butch Jones answered with authority.
When asked for a brief scouting report on Arkansas State quarterback Fredi Knighten, the second-year Tennessee head coach firmly provided a vivid descriptor.
“Explosive,” Jones said Tuesday.
And for good reason. The Red Wolves’ junior signal caller accounted for 357 total yards last Saturday in ASU’s 37-10 drubbing of Football Championship Subdivision participant, Montana State.
“He’s dynamic with the ball in his hands,” Jones said. “He has to be accounted for in everything that he does. He can distribute the football. He can flip field position, and he change the game in one snap.”
While the ASU signal caller did torch the Bobcats through the air to the tune of 219 yards and a touchdown, Knighten’s most riveting skill set perhaps lies with his wheels. On a team-high 16 carries, the 5-foot-11, 189-pounder racked up 93 yards rushing against MSU — a stat legitimate enough to headline the Red Wolves’ ground production this year.
And in a backup role last season, Knighten still managed to scamper for 344 yards and five touchdowns — his most prolific outing coming against University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff campus, when he cracked the century mark and scored twice on the ground.
“I see that is somebody that we can’t let get out of the pocket,” UT senior cornerback Justin Coleman said. “When he runs, I clearly see that he is devastating. He can do some damage to a defense.
“It’s gonna be their fast against our fast. They’re gonna come out there and try to use their speed just to try to dominate.”
Last week — albeit against the lesser opponent in Montana State — that was hardly an issue for ASU, who’ll face an SEC foe for the third time in the last five years.
In the season-opening blowout win, Blake Anderson’s squad ripped off 7.2 yards per offensive play and had five of its seven scoring drives last less than two minutes.
“The last game they played,” Coleman said, “they’ll get through the play, and then they’ll line up as fast as possible just to try to get anxiety into you, just to try to see if you’ll mess up.
“They definitely come out there with fast tempo and they’re looking to trick the team, their opponents … I feel like they are going to come out there and try to gas us out and see our formations — see what we are playing against them, just to try to win.”
Although Saturday marks just the second time ASU has ever trekked east to Neyland Stadium, the noon kickoff does signify a homecoming of sorts for Red Wolves cornerbacks coach Trooper Taylor, who manned the UT sideline from 2004-07 as an assistant.
Known for his iconic backwards hat and overly energetic demeanor, Taylor recently spent time at Oklahoma State and Auburn also, most notably serving as the Tigers’ wide receivers coach on their 2010 national championship team.
“I understand him being at Tennessee and being a long time coach in the SEC,” Jones said of his relationship with Taylor. “I’ve had the chance to meet him a few times but not a personal relationship where we’ve gotten together. Just met him and know a lot people who know him and speak fondly of him.”
