The significance of the Marcus Jackson injury? He was arguably their most consistent performer a year ago. A veteran player who was locked in a LG. Now the great shuffle begins. It really limits their options. Focus now is finding a LG. Opportunity is there for a guy like Kendrick. It’s there for Austin Sanders. Then you start talking about the FR. Can jack Jones play LG? Can Boulware move in there? Can Hall play there? It certainly puts in the fore front that a FR can possibly be playing.
Where does Jack Jones stand in his progression? He is improving. He needs a year to get stronger but that is the case for most true FR. He competes through the whistle. He has shown himself well in one on one competition. The thing now is understanding all of the complexity on the OL. When you are lacking in physical strength ( as a FR) your technique has to be really good. Butch has been very complimentary. Jack is trying to take advantage of the opportunity.
Has the transition that Jashon Robertson made gone better than expected? I think so. The challenge now is to get him on the practice field. He is battling an ankle sprain. He also has had a digestive issue that has made him sick. He has adjusted well. Mentally much better. Physically much stronger. Worked some at Center. With the loss of Jackson I think he will stick at RG.
Who are the most significant ones injured now? Justin Martin has a sprained knee. Out a week or week and half. No long term concerns there but missing that much camp is a concern. Evan Berry they hope to have back next week. Ethan Wolfe is a guy missing with an ankle injury. Dylan Weisman has missed last couple of days. They are pretty much beat up across the board. It’s just part of camp. Coach Jones did not give any indications that he would back off. He is trying to piece together an OL and a young defensive front. First week has had some casualties.
How has Von Pearson looked? He has done a nice job of staying in conditional shape. I think he has lost a little weight. He has done a nice job. His recall has been good. That is a group with the WR core that has done a nice job at the beginning of camp. There is some competition created. I think it has been Josh Malone best week since he has been here (hell yeah!). North is healthy. Smith is healthy and you got the arrival of Jujuan Jennings.
Do you think they will have some packages for Jennings? I do. He is a guy that is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. I think they will try to indoctrinate him. It will be really interesting to see how far he can come the next 2 weeks. He had an advantage because he had 15 days of work at the QB position. He had a lot of learning take place which helped him at the WR spot. I don’t think they will ask him to move around to different spots. I think they will package him like they did Von Pearson last year. Take it as far as Jennings will take it in a mental capacity. I give JJ credit. His commitment in playing the position has been very good. Mental and physical side. He has been doing extra work after practice. He is all in and why not, it is the perfect position for him.
Hurd and Kamara? Alvin can play. No question. Good one two punch. I asked Gillispie at the end of spring what he needed out of Jalen and the first thing he said he needed to be more of a leader. He needed to take ownership of things. In watching practice yesterday I saw Joe Young working on some foot work in pass protection. Gillispie was trying to explain some things to him and finally Jalen stepped in almost took over for Coach Gillispie. Not in a bad way. Jalen really walked through some things with Young. That is where Jalen Hurd has come in miles. We all know the physical ability . His football IQ, his knowledge, his leadership, the way he carries his self is at much greater capacity. He has got off to a great start this fall. I don’t know how much they will give him in contact this camp but I really like where he is mentally compared to last year.
Kyle Phillips was the first FR to have his black striped removed. What about the way he has performed his first camp? It’s amazing that he has been over shadowed because of McKenzie. We have been hearing about Kyle since the 2nd day of practice. Ethan Wolfe called him a freak. We heard about a play that he ran down Pig after a reception. The same kind of stuff we heard last year about Derek Barnett. Even Jancek was talking about it. Loves his mental makeup. Plays hard every play. Has a lot of speed. He has performed extremely well at this point. Remember when a stripe is taken off that is not a coach’s decision. It’s a player position group decision. Players like Barnett, Maggitt, O’Brien to say that Phillips deserves to have his stripe taken off tells you how good he has been playing.
Have McKenzie and Tuttle performed well early on? They are hard to move. They have also shown athletic ability. When coaches start talking about they need to play harder and show the 63 effort that is a sign that they like what they have. They don’t want them to get the big head. They want to motivate. They have performed well. I was talking to someone that if you line up and have draft they may be the most inexperience but they are the ones you pick. Simply based on their size and strength. We will see them a lot especially in Nashville. It is a matter of how fast they understand what the coaches are talking about.
Frank rambling…..rambling…about the DL and how it translate to the secondary?( I guess there was a question in there). You got to temper the expectations with this DL. We will see how much they will push the pocket. You are talking about Barnett and Maggitt on the outside that is a lot of sacks from last year. Then you got Phillips. You can do different things in the secondary. The big thing that is noticeable about the secondary particularly when Justin Martin is out there that they are just faster. More athletic. Not what we saw 2 years ago. Gaulden is having a fantastic camp. He will play a lot at Nickle and safety. Talent level is better in the back end. Defense can be really disruptive. The one question we are seeking every day is who will play MLB? Especially against a run heavy team. Like Arkansas will be and frankly like Georgia will be breaking in a new QB.
Nickle spot? Will have more field to cover against those slot receivers? It is the most coveted positions in recruiting in finding that player outside of defensive linemen (interesting). You are playing Nickle almost exclusively now. You are not playing base like we use to see. That guy has to play so many snaps. OC are trying to get the matchup they want. The Nickle also has to get downhill in the run game. That is what they like about Gaulden. He has the athletic ability to cover but also get downhill in the run game. Evan Berry will push there as well. They are more athletic at that position this year than they were a year ago.
They have slowed some installation on offense? Coaches not satisfied with some things? Everything was going so fast and so early that they had some moments that it was sloppy. Caoches backed off some install last Sat. Saturday was a much better day on the practice field. Monday they didn’t do much install. They did more yesterday (Tuesday). Did more with goal line and red zone. This is not in common. Decsions will be made this week on “here’s what we can do” and “ here’s what we can’t do”. They want to be as fast as they can.
That’s all folks!! Go Vols!!
Where does Jack Jones stand in his progression? He is improving. He needs a year to get stronger but that is the case for most true FR. He competes through the whistle. He has shown himself well in one on one competition. The thing now is understanding all of the complexity on the OL. When you are lacking in physical strength ( as a FR) your technique has to be really good. Butch has been very complimentary. Jack is trying to take advantage of the opportunity.
Has the transition that Jashon Robertson made gone better than expected? I think so. The challenge now is to get him on the practice field. He is battling an ankle sprain. He also has had a digestive issue that has made him sick. He has adjusted well. Mentally much better. Physically much stronger. Worked some at Center. With the loss of Jackson I think he will stick at RG.
Who are the most significant ones injured now? Justin Martin has a sprained knee. Out a week or week and half. No long term concerns there but missing that much camp is a concern. Evan Berry they hope to have back next week. Ethan Wolfe is a guy missing with an ankle injury. Dylan Weisman has missed last couple of days. They are pretty much beat up across the board. It’s just part of camp. Coach Jones did not give any indications that he would back off. He is trying to piece together an OL and a young defensive front. First week has had some casualties.
How has Von Pearson looked? He has done a nice job of staying in conditional shape. I think he has lost a little weight. He has done a nice job. His recall has been good. That is a group with the WR core that has done a nice job at the beginning of camp. There is some competition created. I think it has been Josh Malone best week since he has been here (hell yeah!). North is healthy. Smith is healthy and you got the arrival of Jujuan Jennings.
Do you think they will have some packages for Jennings? I do. He is a guy that is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. I think they will try to indoctrinate him. It will be really interesting to see how far he can come the next 2 weeks. He had an advantage because he had 15 days of work at the QB position. He had a lot of learning take place which helped him at the WR spot. I don’t think they will ask him to move around to different spots. I think they will package him like they did Von Pearson last year. Take it as far as Jennings will take it in a mental capacity. I give JJ credit. His commitment in playing the position has been very good. Mental and physical side. He has been doing extra work after practice. He is all in and why not, it is the perfect position for him.
Hurd and Kamara? Alvin can play. No question. Good one two punch. I asked Gillispie at the end of spring what he needed out of Jalen and the first thing he said he needed to be more of a leader. He needed to take ownership of things. In watching practice yesterday I saw Joe Young working on some foot work in pass protection. Gillispie was trying to explain some things to him and finally Jalen stepped in almost took over for Coach Gillispie. Not in a bad way. Jalen really walked through some things with Young. That is where Jalen Hurd has come in miles. We all know the physical ability . His football IQ, his knowledge, his leadership, the way he carries his self is at much greater capacity. He has got off to a great start this fall. I don’t know how much they will give him in contact this camp but I really like where he is mentally compared to last year.
Kyle Phillips was the first FR to have his black striped removed. What about the way he has performed his first camp? It’s amazing that he has been over shadowed because of McKenzie. We have been hearing about Kyle since the 2nd day of practice. Ethan Wolfe called him a freak. We heard about a play that he ran down Pig after a reception. The same kind of stuff we heard last year about Derek Barnett. Even Jancek was talking about it. Loves his mental makeup. Plays hard every play. Has a lot of speed. He has performed extremely well at this point. Remember when a stripe is taken off that is not a coach’s decision. It’s a player position group decision. Players like Barnett, Maggitt, O’Brien to say that Phillips deserves to have his stripe taken off tells you how good he has been playing.
Have McKenzie and Tuttle performed well early on? They are hard to move. They have also shown athletic ability. When coaches start talking about they need to play harder and show the 63 effort that is a sign that they like what they have. They don’t want them to get the big head. They want to motivate. They have performed well. I was talking to someone that if you line up and have draft they may be the most inexperience but they are the ones you pick. Simply based on their size and strength. We will see them a lot especially in Nashville. It is a matter of how fast they understand what the coaches are talking about.
Frank rambling…..rambling…about the DL and how it translate to the secondary?( I guess there was a question in there). You got to temper the expectations with this DL. We will see how much they will push the pocket. You are talking about Barnett and Maggitt on the outside that is a lot of sacks from last year. Then you got Phillips. You can do different things in the secondary. The big thing that is noticeable about the secondary particularly when Justin Martin is out there that they are just faster. More athletic. Not what we saw 2 years ago. Gaulden is having a fantastic camp. He will play a lot at Nickle and safety. Talent level is better in the back end. Defense can be really disruptive. The one question we are seeking every day is who will play MLB? Especially against a run heavy team. Like Arkansas will be and frankly like Georgia will be breaking in a new QB.
Nickle spot? Will have more field to cover against those slot receivers? It is the most coveted positions in recruiting in finding that player outside of defensive linemen (interesting). You are playing Nickle almost exclusively now. You are not playing base like we use to see. That guy has to play so many snaps. OC are trying to get the matchup they want. The Nickle also has to get downhill in the run game. That is what they like about Gaulden. He has the athletic ability to cover but also get downhill in the run game. Evan Berry will push there as well. They are more athletic at that position this year than they were a year ago.
They have slowed some installation on offense? Coaches not satisfied with some things? Everything was going so fast and so early that they had some moments that it was sloppy. Caoches backed off some install last Sat. Saturday was a much better day on the practice field. Monday they didn’t do much install. They did more yesterday (Tuesday). Did more with goal line and red zone. This is not in common. Decsions will be made this week on “here’s what we can do” and “ here’s what we can’t do”. They want to be as fast as they can.
That’s all folks!! Go Vols!!
