With Fan Day cancelled due to inclement weather, Tennessee’s open practice turned into a traditional three-period viewing session for the media.
The Vols held their third workout, now in shoulder pads, in the indoor practice field with friends and family members scattered throughout the complex.
Here’s some observations from Day 3 of fall camp…
Let’s start with the bad, which was Saturday’s routes on air period. Both Jim Chaney and Chris Weinke were disgusted at times, as way too many balls hit the turf. The quarterbacks, including starter Jarrett Guarantano, were frequently late or off target. I’m not sure why, but the timing of the group was simply off, especially on routes like post-corners or seams. Meanwhile, the wideouts weren’t much better, struggling just catching the football cleanly. During one part of the drill, the slot receivers dropped four of five balls, including Jauan Jennings, Jordan Murphy and Jacquez Jones. The drops were contagious, too, with reliable targets Josh Palmer and Marquez Callaway also in on the act.
Tyler Byrd did have a strong period, making two strong grabs, including a shoe-string catch over the middle. Brandon Johnson continued his strong start to camp, too. Overall, I’d chalk this up to just a bad eight minutes of practice. I wouldn’t be surprised if both unit were much better the rest of the day once we left the way Chaney and Weinke got on them.
Elsewhere, we got a closer look at the tailbacks today. The rotation remained the same, with Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Jeremy Banks and Eric Gray going in order. No sign of Carlin Fils-Aime. The unit did a gauntlet drill, with a clear focus on emphasizing physicality, and it was hard not to be impressed with Chandler’s combination of power and burst.
A couple more quick notes offensively: Andrew Craig is getting a lot of work with Dominick Wood-Anderson and Jackson Lowe during various two-tight end sets. The former walk-on could be used as a physical blocker, H-back in some situations this fall. Also, Trey Smith did a little more contact in full five-man line drills today. It looks like they’re slowly bringing him along. Yesterday he was hitting a pad and today he was engaging with another lineman. The OL was across the field but the first group was Wanya Morris, Smith, Brandon Kennedy, K’Rojhn Calbert and Marcus Tatum. The second group went Jahmir Johnson, Jerome Carvin, Ryan Johnson, Nathan Niehaus and Darnell Wright.
I didn’t spend much time at all watching the linebackers and defensive line today. I did see Chris Rumph go nuts when he didnt like his unit's energy during a punch drill.
In the secondary, freshman Jaylen McCollough was back at safety after working at STAR on Saturday. The Peach State prospect was paired with Trevon Flowers, while Nigel Warrior and Theo Jackson worked as a tandem.
Once again, the cornerbacks and wideouts squared off in a press coverage/release drill. I noted it on the board earlier, but Warren Burrell was as impressive as any DB in the drill. The freshman won (2) or tied his three reps, going against Palmer, Jennings and Callaway. Bryce Thompson was 1-1, besting Palmer but getting shook by Deangelo Gibbs. Alontae Taylor was really sticky, and Pruitt had Jerrod Means jump in line twice, another indication of Tennessee trying to expedite that transition as quickly as possible. Also, Byrd won his two reps, while Jordan Murphy and Brandon Johnson both easily bested Shawn Shamburger.
The Vols held their third workout, now in shoulder pads, in the indoor practice field with friends and family members scattered throughout the complex.
Here’s some observations from Day 3 of fall camp…
Let’s start with the bad, which was Saturday’s routes on air period. Both Jim Chaney and Chris Weinke were disgusted at times, as way too many balls hit the turf. The quarterbacks, including starter Jarrett Guarantano, were frequently late or off target. I’m not sure why, but the timing of the group was simply off, especially on routes like post-corners or seams. Meanwhile, the wideouts weren’t much better, struggling just catching the football cleanly. During one part of the drill, the slot receivers dropped four of five balls, including Jauan Jennings, Jordan Murphy and Jacquez Jones. The drops were contagious, too, with reliable targets Josh Palmer and Marquez Callaway also in on the act.
Tyler Byrd did have a strong period, making two strong grabs, including a shoe-string catch over the middle. Brandon Johnson continued his strong start to camp, too. Overall, I’d chalk this up to just a bad eight minutes of practice. I wouldn’t be surprised if both unit were much better the rest of the day once we left the way Chaney and Weinke got on them.
Elsewhere, we got a closer look at the tailbacks today. The rotation remained the same, with Ty Chandler, Tim Jordan, Jeremy Banks and Eric Gray going in order. No sign of Carlin Fils-Aime. The unit did a gauntlet drill, with a clear focus on emphasizing physicality, and it was hard not to be impressed with Chandler’s combination of power and burst.
A couple more quick notes offensively: Andrew Craig is getting a lot of work with Dominick Wood-Anderson and Jackson Lowe during various two-tight end sets. The former walk-on could be used as a physical blocker, H-back in some situations this fall. Also, Trey Smith did a little more contact in full five-man line drills today. It looks like they’re slowly bringing him along. Yesterday he was hitting a pad and today he was engaging with another lineman. The OL was across the field but the first group was Wanya Morris, Smith, Brandon Kennedy, K’Rojhn Calbert and Marcus Tatum. The second group went Jahmir Johnson, Jerome Carvin, Ryan Johnson, Nathan Niehaus and Darnell Wright.
I didn’t spend much time at all watching the linebackers and defensive line today. I did see Chris Rumph go nuts when he didnt like his unit's energy during a punch drill.
In the secondary, freshman Jaylen McCollough was back at safety after working at STAR on Saturday. The Peach State prospect was paired with Trevon Flowers, while Nigel Warrior and Theo Jackson worked as a tandem.
Once again, the cornerbacks and wideouts squared off in a press coverage/release drill. I noted it on the board earlier, but Warren Burrell was as impressive as any DB in the drill. The freshman won (2) or tied his three reps, going against Palmer, Jennings and Callaway. Bryce Thompson was 1-1, besting Palmer but getting shook by Deangelo Gibbs. Alontae Taylor was really sticky, and Pruitt had Jerrod Means jump in line twice, another indication of Tennessee trying to expedite that transition as quickly as possible. Also, Byrd won his two reps, while Jordan Murphy and Brandon Johnson both easily bested Shawn Shamburger.
