We heard from Jeremy Pruitt earlier this evening, as Tennessee’s head coach recapped the team’s second preseason scrimmage with very few specifics.
The second-year coach noted he liked his team’s effort, thought the special teams continued to have a strong camp and lamented a lack of consistency on both sides of the ball.
After talking to some folks who were in attendance for the closed scrimmage, here are some insider notes on a steamy Saturday in Neyland Stadium…
Tennessee escaped its second full scrimmage without any major injuries, per sources — a big win at this point in camp. A few guys, including starting tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, mostly worked on the side today, while Daniel Bituli did get a bit dinged up late but not serious.
We noted earlier, but Tennessee wideouts Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer both had several big catches Saturday. Callaway had a back-shoulder touchdown catch over freshman cornerback Warren Burrell and also beat Alontae Taylor, who worked almost exclusively with the 1s, for another score. Meanwhile, Palmer recorded several explosive plays, including a couple circus catches.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had a pick-six on a tipped pass that Deandre Johnson ran back for a touchdown, but otherwise, it was a much crisper scrimmage for Tennessee’s starting quarterback. O
Pruitt was clearly peeved about some of the sloppiness in Tennessee’s scrimmage, as Ty Chandler had two of three early fumbles, there was way too many pre-snap penalties and Taylor also dropped an interception. Still, despite shuffling around the offensive line constantly (more there in a moment), the unit was able to put together some drives thanks to explosive plays to Callaway and Palmer and long runs by Chandler. After one fumble, the junior immediately came back with an explosive run. David Johnson talked a lot about ball security on Thursday and that remains an area of concern with this group, though.
On the offensive line, Tennessee experimented big-time Saturday, working countless combinations with the 1s. As we noted earlier this week, Trey Smith would not participate, so the left guard spot saw Ryan Johnson, Jerome Carvin and Riley Locklear all see time with the first team.
Jahmir Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Brandon Kennedy, K’Rojhn Calbert and Marcus Tatum had several drives together. Later, Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright saw time with the 1s together.
Ryan Johnson played four spots Saturday, seeing time at both guard positions, center and even right tackle.
From talking to folks, Calbert seems to be closer to locking down that right guard spot thanks to his physicality and aggressiveness. He still makes too many mental mistakes, but the physical upside is immense.
At backup quarterback, JT Shrout got the initial reps with the 2s but he and Brian Maurer continue to split time.
Defensively, Taylor and Bryce Thompson got bulk of work together at cornerback. Pruitt stated that there is no new update in regards to Aubrey Solomon and the Michigan transfer saw time with the 1s and 2s Saturday.
In talking to folks, the two guys who impressed as much as any were outside linebackers Deandre Johnson and freshman Roman Harrison.
For Johnson, he had a big day with the pick-six, a couple run stops and several near sacks. It’s notable we haven’t heard much initial buzz about Darrell Taylor after both scrimmages.
As for Harrison, multiple people indicated he is already the nastiest and most aggressive player on Tennessee’s defense. He’s a bit of a Tasmanian devil at times but his passion and physicality are much-needed for this unit. Pruitt had his long example post-scrimmage about playing young guys who make mistakes but have real upside vs. vets who know what to do but can’t make plays and he might as well have been telling the Roman Harrison story. Suffice to say, the buzz isn’t going to die down there anytime soon.
Harrison, Elijah Simmons and even Jerrod Means — three guys fairly under-recruited — have all impressed the staff this camp and one source believes they will absolutely outperform their prep ranking.
Elsewhere, the defensive line was very inconsistent, per folks. Solomon was up and down, same for Savion Williams and Simmons. Darel Middleton and Greg Emerson continue to get the bulk of work together as the team’s top interior combo.
Finally, Pruitt was complementary of the special teams on Saturday, as both the punters and kickers performed well. He also said the team is closer to knowing who their return guys will be, and word is both Callaway and Thompson has big returns.
The second-year coach noted he liked his team’s effort, thought the special teams continued to have a strong camp and lamented a lack of consistency on both sides of the ball.
After talking to some folks who were in attendance for the closed scrimmage, here are some insider notes on a steamy Saturday in Neyland Stadium…
Tennessee escaped its second full scrimmage without any major injuries, per sources — a big win at this point in camp. A few guys, including starting tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson, mostly worked on the side today, while Daniel Bituli did get a bit dinged up late but not serious.
We noted earlier, but Tennessee wideouts Marquez Callaway and Josh Palmer both had several big catches Saturday. Callaway had a back-shoulder touchdown catch over freshman cornerback Warren Burrell and also beat Alontae Taylor, who worked almost exclusively with the 1s, for another score. Meanwhile, Palmer recorded several explosive plays, including a couple circus catches.
Quarterback Jarrett Guarantano had a pick-six on a tipped pass that Deandre Johnson ran back for a touchdown, but otherwise, it was a much crisper scrimmage for Tennessee’s starting quarterback. O
Pruitt was clearly peeved about some of the sloppiness in Tennessee’s scrimmage, as Ty Chandler had two of three early fumbles, there was way too many pre-snap penalties and Taylor also dropped an interception. Still, despite shuffling around the offensive line constantly (more there in a moment), the unit was able to put together some drives thanks to explosive plays to Callaway and Palmer and long runs by Chandler. After one fumble, the junior immediately came back with an explosive run. David Johnson talked a lot about ball security on Thursday and that remains an area of concern with this group, though.
On the offensive line, Tennessee experimented big-time Saturday, working countless combinations with the 1s. As we noted earlier this week, Trey Smith would not participate, so the left guard spot saw Ryan Johnson, Jerome Carvin and Riley Locklear all see time with the first team.
Jahmir Johnson, Ryan Johnson, Brandon Kennedy, K’Rojhn Calbert and Marcus Tatum had several drives together. Later, Wanya Morris and Darnell Wright saw time with the 1s together.
Ryan Johnson played four spots Saturday, seeing time at both guard positions, center and even right tackle.
From talking to folks, Calbert seems to be closer to locking down that right guard spot thanks to his physicality and aggressiveness. He still makes too many mental mistakes, but the physical upside is immense.
At backup quarterback, JT Shrout got the initial reps with the 2s but he and Brian Maurer continue to split time.
Defensively, Taylor and Bryce Thompson got bulk of work together at cornerback. Pruitt stated that there is no new update in regards to Aubrey Solomon and the Michigan transfer saw time with the 1s and 2s Saturday.
In talking to folks, the two guys who impressed as much as any were outside linebackers Deandre Johnson and freshman Roman Harrison.
For Johnson, he had a big day with the pick-six, a couple run stops and several near sacks. It’s notable we haven’t heard much initial buzz about Darrell Taylor after both scrimmages.
As for Harrison, multiple people indicated he is already the nastiest and most aggressive player on Tennessee’s defense. He’s a bit of a Tasmanian devil at times but his passion and physicality are much-needed for this unit. Pruitt had his long example post-scrimmage about playing young guys who make mistakes but have real upside vs. vets who know what to do but can’t make plays and he might as well have been telling the Roman Harrison story. Suffice to say, the buzz isn’t going to die down there anytime soon.
Harrison, Elijah Simmons and even Jerrod Means — three guys fairly under-recruited — have all impressed the staff this camp and one source believes they will absolutely outperform their prep ranking.
Elsewhere, the defensive line was very inconsistent, per folks. Solomon was up and down, same for Savion Williams and Simmons. Darel Middleton and Greg Emerson continue to get the bulk of work together as the team’s top interior combo.
Finally, Pruitt was complementary of the special teams on Saturday, as both the punters and kickers performed well. He also said the team is closer to knowing who their return guys will be, and word is both Callaway and Thompson has big returns.
