Tennessee held its second preseason scrimmage Saturday, running around 135 snaps on a muggy afternoon inside Neyland Stadium.
Here are a few nuggets collected from the closed scrimmage by the VolQuest.com staff.
*** Jeremy Pruitt said that all four quarterbacks saw snaps Saturday, but in talking to folks, Jarrett Guarantano did nothing to lose his hold as the frontrunner for the starting job. None of the quarterbacks were outstanding, per sources, with Pruitt acknowledging as much Saturday, saying, “it probably wasn’t fair to the offense (to play four guys)” and “it hindered the offense’s timing and stuff there.” Still, Guarantano remains on track to start against West Virginia. The coaches continue to challenge the redshirt sophomore on his intangibles, namely making all 10 guys around him better.
*** Although Pruitt was complementary of his offensive line Saturday afternoon, the unit struggled as the scrimmage went on. Ultimately, the defense won the day, per sources.
Ty Chandler had some bright moments, but UT's run defense was much better than a week ago. The defense also came up with multiple turnovers, with Trevon Flowers making a play for the second straight scrimmage. It’s clear that freshmen defensive backs Flowers and Alontae Taylor are going to play a ton in Week 1 — with Taylor likely starting at corner and Flowers pushing for a safety spot.
*** Still, while it might not have been the best day (or the fairest day) for the offensive line Saturday, things on that front are changing — for the better.
Everyone has been eagerly awaiting the return of Trey Smith. Smith is expected to be full go this week. But Smith's return — and the hope that Chance Hall might be able to provide spot snaps in the fall — not the only growing positives with this unit.
Redshirt freshman K'Rojhn Calbert has seen his confidence grow daily and the 6-foot-6, 330-pound guard is showing up more and more at RG. Calbert isn't expected to be a starter in two weeks, but there's real optimism that he will play a lot this fall, especially as he continues to settle in. Pruitt said Saturday that there will be guys who don’t start Week 1 but will work their way into the lineup by midseason. Calbert is a prime candidate there.
The other lineman who is starting to show up with more and more reps is Jamir Johnson. Johnson struggled with conditioning early, but he benefitted greatly last week with Drew Richmond working at right tackle. That move allowed the JUCO transfer to see his greatest amount of work this fall at left tackle. Johnson isn't the heaviest guy, but he's a good athlete who plays with good leverage and has shown a lot of toughness. The focus now is making sure his conditioning improves and getting up to speed mentally.
Bottom line, the number of guys who can help along the offensive front seems to be growing as fall camp closes. Tennessee has options and once the staff decides whether it wants to play Smith at LT or LG, then the rest of the unit will sort itself out.
*** Finally, Jauan Jennings had one of his best days of camp. While the junior has been bothered by a knee injury all month, he battled Saturday and is working his way back into the mix.
*** Tennessee will be off Monday and then return to the practice field Tuesday afternoon.
Here are a few nuggets collected from the closed scrimmage by the VolQuest.com staff.
*** Jeremy Pruitt said that all four quarterbacks saw snaps Saturday, but in talking to folks, Jarrett Guarantano did nothing to lose his hold as the frontrunner for the starting job. None of the quarterbacks were outstanding, per sources, with Pruitt acknowledging as much Saturday, saying, “it probably wasn’t fair to the offense (to play four guys)” and “it hindered the offense’s timing and stuff there.” Still, Guarantano remains on track to start against West Virginia. The coaches continue to challenge the redshirt sophomore on his intangibles, namely making all 10 guys around him better.
*** Although Pruitt was complementary of his offensive line Saturday afternoon, the unit struggled as the scrimmage went on. Ultimately, the defense won the day, per sources.
Ty Chandler had some bright moments, but UT's run defense was much better than a week ago. The defense also came up with multiple turnovers, with Trevon Flowers making a play for the second straight scrimmage. It’s clear that freshmen defensive backs Flowers and Alontae Taylor are going to play a ton in Week 1 — with Taylor likely starting at corner and Flowers pushing for a safety spot.
*** Still, while it might not have been the best day (or the fairest day) for the offensive line Saturday, things on that front are changing — for the better.
Everyone has been eagerly awaiting the return of Trey Smith. Smith is expected to be full go this week. But Smith's return — and the hope that Chance Hall might be able to provide spot snaps in the fall — not the only growing positives with this unit.
Redshirt freshman K'Rojhn Calbert has seen his confidence grow daily and the 6-foot-6, 330-pound guard is showing up more and more at RG. Calbert isn't expected to be a starter in two weeks, but there's real optimism that he will play a lot this fall, especially as he continues to settle in. Pruitt said Saturday that there will be guys who don’t start Week 1 but will work their way into the lineup by midseason. Calbert is a prime candidate there.
The other lineman who is starting to show up with more and more reps is Jamir Johnson. Johnson struggled with conditioning early, but he benefitted greatly last week with Drew Richmond working at right tackle. That move allowed the JUCO transfer to see his greatest amount of work this fall at left tackle. Johnson isn't the heaviest guy, but he's a good athlete who plays with good leverage and has shown a lot of toughness. The focus now is making sure his conditioning improves and getting up to speed mentally.
Bottom line, the number of guys who can help along the offensive front seems to be growing as fall camp closes. Tennessee has options and once the staff decides whether it wants to play Smith at LT or LG, then the rest of the unit will sort itself out.
*** Finally, Jauan Jennings had one of his best days of camp. While the junior has been bothered by a knee injury all month, he battled Saturday and is working his way back into the mix.
*** Tennessee will be off Monday and then return to the practice field Tuesday afternoon.
