Week two is here and for the Vols that means their first major scrimmage. So what did we learn in week one? And what's key for week two? Here are 10 items in my 10 things I think I think pre-season edition.
2. Speed, speed, speed — All week long people have asked what stands out about this team on the practice field. I think you have to reserve judgement on the line of scrimmage till they start really playing some football, but from day one on the practice field this team looks faster. We know Dylan Sampson is fast as is Squirrel White, but Hadden looked faster before he got hurt. Juwan Williams looks quicker. There looks to be more explosion from this group. How will that translate in terms of playing on the field, we will see. However, this off-season appears to have been good for this team.
3. Game on — Glen Elarbee said that they could move Darnell Wright to left tackle if needed, but Wright wants to play right tackle and Alex Golesh would like to leave him that. In order for that to happen, someone has to win the job at left tackle. Gerald Mincey is a left tackle only. JJ Crawford is more natural at left. Dayne Davis could play either side but has his most experience at right tackle. If Mincey or Crawford wins the job then Wright stays on the right side. If Davis is the best option as the other tackle, Wright could flip back to left.
As for that competition between the three, it’s been on, but it gets real this week with the Vols first scrimmage on Tuesday.
“To say who's where or what, I couldn't do that for you if that's where this sucker's heading, but they're competing really, really well,” Elarbee said.
"Typically, you hope that you have a direction after the first scrimmage, and then you kind of solidify after the second scrimmage. Some years, you're fortunate that it happens before then if there are a bunch of returning guys. Hopefully by the first scrimmage, you have an idea, and then for sure by the second scrimmage, you probably need to know and give those guys a chance to play as many snaps together as they can."
4. Any minnie miny moe — Defensive back coach Willie Martinez played 5 guys over 800 snaps last season as he had little to no comfort level with those behind his starters especially when Christian Charles got hurt. This spring Martinez had a very limited number of guys available for work thanks to off-season surgeries. This camp Martinez has some options with everyone back aside from Kamal Hadden missing a couple of days and Christian Charles being limited. So the question is how will things shake out and more importantly how comfortable will Martinez be to play more bodies so that they can have some depth and not be as wore out late in games.
One guy who has surprised me to this point based on the buzz about him is Tamarion McDonald at the star position. Can he win that job? We will see, but he took advantage of the reps he got in spring and built on it through the summer. As a result he has gotten off to a nice start this camp.
5. Which Lyn-J shows up — Tennessee welcomed a new tailback on Thursday as Clemson turned West Virginia transfer Lyn-J Dixon is now a part of the program. Dixon was as lost as you could expect on Thursday, but the question is can this new start, re-start the talented back. Dixon had a solid first two years at Clemson rushing for 1182 yards and 11 scores as a back up. His last two years something was off as Dixon didn’t get a ton of opportunities. His last two seasons as a Tiger, Dixon had just 52 touches after 166 his first two years. What happened is anyone’s guess. But the question now is how does Dixon attack his opportunity at Tennessee with a clean slate. The Vols need depth. Dixon has the talent to be more than just a “depth” guy. But to do that, he has to live, sleep, eat and breath football to get up to speed on Josh Heupel’s system. Is he committed to doing that? On the practice field in drills there’s no knocking his physical ability.
- The more you know — Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel is like most every power 5 football coach in that practice viewing is limited. But where Heupel is different is in the fact he lets his assistants talk and he let’s some freshman talk. It might not seem like a big deal, but it is for the media and the fans to learn more about the team. Just this week, you had Joey Halzle tell the story of how he helped Hendon Hooker find joy in the game. Glen Elerbee explained why Darnell Wright is at right tackle and on and on. A tip of the cap to Heupel for doing that. Now if we could only get him to let us watch one pre-season scrimmage. It won’t happen but we can always hope.
2. Speed, speed, speed — All week long people have asked what stands out about this team on the practice field. I think you have to reserve judgement on the line of scrimmage till they start really playing some football, but from day one on the practice field this team looks faster. We know Dylan Sampson is fast as is Squirrel White, but Hadden looked faster before he got hurt. Juwan Williams looks quicker. There looks to be more explosion from this group. How will that translate in terms of playing on the field, we will see. However, this off-season appears to have been good for this team.
3. Game on — Glen Elarbee said that they could move Darnell Wright to left tackle if needed, but Wright wants to play right tackle and Alex Golesh would like to leave him that. In order for that to happen, someone has to win the job at left tackle. Gerald Mincey is a left tackle only. JJ Crawford is more natural at left. Dayne Davis could play either side but has his most experience at right tackle. If Mincey or Crawford wins the job then Wright stays on the right side. If Davis is the best option as the other tackle, Wright could flip back to left.
As for that competition between the three, it’s been on, but it gets real this week with the Vols first scrimmage on Tuesday.
“To say who's where or what, I couldn't do that for you if that's where this sucker's heading, but they're competing really, really well,” Elarbee said.
"Typically, you hope that you have a direction after the first scrimmage, and then you kind of solidify after the second scrimmage. Some years, you're fortunate that it happens before then if there are a bunch of returning guys. Hopefully by the first scrimmage, you have an idea, and then for sure by the second scrimmage, you probably need to know and give those guys a chance to play as many snaps together as they can."
4. Any minnie miny moe — Defensive back coach Willie Martinez played 5 guys over 800 snaps last season as he had little to no comfort level with those behind his starters especially when Christian Charles got hurt. This spring Martinez had a very limited number of guys available for work thanks to off-season surgeries. This camp Martinez has some options with everyone back aside from Kamal Hadden missing a couple of days and Christian Charles being limited. So the question is how will things shake out and more importantly how comfortable will Martinez be to play more bodies so that they can have some depth and not be as wore out late in games.
One guy who has surprised me to this point based on the buzz about him is Tamarion McDonald at the star position. Can he win that job? We will see, but he took advantage of the reps he got in spring and built on it through the summer. As a result he has gotten off to a nice start this camp.
5. Which Lyn-J shows up — Tennessee welcomed a new tailback on Thursday as Clemson turned West Virginia transfer Lyn-J Dixon is now a part of the program. Dixon was as lost as you could expect on Thursday, but the question is can this new start, re-start the talented back. Dixon had a solid first two years at Clemson rushing for 1182 yards and 11 scores as a back up. His last two years something was off as Dixon didn’t get a ton of opportunities. His last two seasons as a Tiger, Dixon had just 52 touches after 166 his first two years. What happened is anyone’s guess. But the question now is how does Dixon attack his opportunity at Tennessee with a clean slate. The Vols need depth. Dixon has the talent to be more than just a “depth” guy. But to do that, he has to live, sleep, eat and breath football to get up to speed on Josh Heupel’s system. Is he committed to doing that? On the practice field in drills there’s no knocking his physical ability.
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