Tennessee held its first of 15 practices this spring Tuesday, as Butch Jones got a look at Team121 on a gorgeous day in Knoxville.
As Jones mentioned in his pre-spring press conference, Brett Kendrick, Kendal Vickers, Quart’e Sapp, Josh Smith, Micah Abernathy, Rashaan Gaulden and Kyle Phillips all watched practice from the sidelines. Chance Hall, who Jones said was not 100 percent but would be involved in practice, also did not participate.
In a bit of a surprise, Shy Tuttle and Brandon Johnson both participated in some capacity. Tuttle was dressed and worked out on the side, looking noticeably limber for a guy still recovering from another serious leg injury. He's not 100 percent, but he looks farther along than most expected. Johnson had shoulder surgery this spring, but still took part in a couple non-contact receiving drills.
Several other veterans did not participate in practice, but per media rules, we are not allowed to disclose names.
Quarterbacks
The quarterback battle is on. Quinten Dormady took the “first reps” — whatever that means right now — on every drill. Throwing or non-throwing. Jarrett Guarantano flashed his mobility and agility during footwork drills, as his time spent with George Whitfield (think pocket work in the ocean) looked to pay immediate dividends.
During a brief “routes on air” period, both guys looked pretty good. Dormady sailed his very first throw but then uncorked about six-straight really good ones. Meanwhile, Guarantano got better and better as the drill progressed. He seemed almost hesitant on his first few throws before putting perfect air on a number of sideline throws.
Later, both guys did well on seam routes over the middle. The immediate takeaway: Nothing’s changed. This battle will be a good one to watch for the next few months.
A final quick note: Mike Canales was fun to watch around the quarterbacks today. He’s very vocal and always teaching. He has a positivity about him, too.
Offensive line
The OL is officially Walt Wells’ unit. The vibe was different with Wells in total control Tuesday, as he instructed the unit exclusively. From L-R, Drew Richmond, Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Jack Jones and Marcus Tatum took the initial reps. Overall, this unit is still a work in progress. Kendrick and Hall's absence was noticeable Tuesday.
Ballyhooed freshman Trey Smith certainly looked the part Tuesday, lining up exclusively at left tackle. Despite his youth, Smith is already noticeably one of Tennessee’s biggest lineman.
In terms of S&C gains, Jack Jones has added muscle, same for redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson.
Tatum, Nathan Niehaus and Devante Brooks all have a long ways to go in that department, though.
This & That
Everyone wants to know about the quarterbacks. We just saw them throwing against ‘air’ today but I thought both looked crisp. Really not a lot to judge guys on from today but both threw the ball really well. I thought Guarantano in particular hit several guys in stride on deep balls and didn’t really notice either being badly off-target at any point.
Offensively one thing that really jumps out is that this team is going to need help from one or two freshman running backs in this class. Even if Carlin Fils-Aime has a great spring and earns a role, there’s still going to be ample opportunity for one of the newcomers to make a mark in fall camp. Looking at you Ty Chandler.
A lot of eyeballs are on Trey Smith this spring. We probably won’t have a clear idea of what he’s going to be able to do after spring, but man, physically, he absolutely looks the part. Smith already looks one of the most physically developed guys on the offensive line regardless of class.
On the defensive side I thought Daniel Bituli looked good just running around in space. The winter in the weight room has clearly been good for him and he looked sharp and explosive.
I was a little surprised to see that Austin Smith was back at linebacker and Jaquan Blakely was at defensive end. From the looks of things, Blakely belongs there with his frame and build but given the depth issues, I thought Smith would stay there as well. Maybe that means the staff really likes what they’ve seen from Deandre Johnson? Not sure but that’s something to keep an eye on.
Darrell Taylor definitely looks bigger, no mistake about that. He’s got a huge opportunity in front of him this spring and from the looks of his body, he’s working to take advantage of it. Jonathan Kongbo, not surprisingly, looks like a million bucks just running around in drills. Now he’s got to show up in live action.
Marquill Osborne looked like he was working with the cornerbacks today and I thought he looked like he had gotten a little bigger and more defined. Big chance for him at a position that’s unsettled.
Tennessee worked a ton of different guys on punt returns today; Nigel Warrior, Latrell Williams, John Kelly, Justin Martin, Marquez Callaway, Emmanuel Moseley and Osborne were just a few of the guys getting work back there.
As Jones mentioned in his pre-spring press conference, Brett Kendrick, Kendal Vickers, Quart’e Sapp, Josh Smith, Micah Abernathy, Rashaan Gaulden and Kyle Phillips all watched practice from the sidelines. Chance Hall, who Jones said was not 100 percent but would be involved in practice, also did not participate.
In a bit of a surprise, Shy Tuttle and Brandon Johnson both participated in some capacity. Tuttle was dressed and worked out on the side, looking noticeably limber for a guy still recovering from another serious leg injury. He's not 100 percent, but he looks farther along than most expected. Johnson had shoulder surgery this spring, but still took part in a couple non-contact receiving drills.
Several other veterans did not participate in practice, but per media rules, we are not allowed to disclose names.
Quarterbacks
The quarterback battle is on. Quinten Dormady took the “first reps” — whatever that means right now — on every drill. Throwing or non-throwing. Jarrett Guarantano flashed his mobility and agility during footwork drills, as his time spent with George Whitfield (think pocket work in the ocean) looked to pay immediate dividends.
During a brief “routes on air” period, both guys looked pretty good. Dormady sailed his very first throw but then uncorked about six-straight really good ones. Meanwhile, Guarantano got better and better as the drill progressed. He seemed almost hesitant on his first few throws before putting perfect air on a number of sideline throws.
Later, both guys did well on seam routes over the middle. The immediate takeaway: Nothing’s changed. This battle will be a good one to watch for the next few months.
A final quick note: Mike Canales was fun to watch around the quarterbacks today. He’s very vocal and always teaching. He has a positivity about him, too.
Offensive line
The OL is officially Walt Wells’ unit. The vibe was different with Wells in total control Tuesday, as he instructed the unit exclusively. From L-R, Drew Richmond, Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Jack Jones and Marcus Tatum took the initial reps. Overall, this unit is still a work in progress. Kendrick and Hall's absence was noticeable Tuesday.
Ballyhooed freshman Trey Smith certainly looked the part Tuesday, lining up exclusively at left tackle. Despite his youth, Smith is already noticeably one of Tennessee’s biggest lineman.
In terms of S&C gains, Jack Jones has added muscle, same for redshirt freshman Ryan Johnson.
Tatum, Nathan Niehaus and Devante Brooks all have a long ways to go in that department, though.
This & That
- Redshirt freshman Ja’Quian Blakely was working exclusively with the defensive ends. Meanwhile, Austin Smith was back at linebacker.
- As he said he would, new receivers coach Kevin Beard was rocking some new white and orange cleats out on the field.
- Defensive tackle Alexis Johnson flashed well Tuesday.
- During punt return drills, Nigel Warrior, Marquill Osborne, Tyler Byrd and Justin Martin all took turns fielding punts.
- Former Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin was out at practice Tuesday.
- Because of the expansion of the practice fields, Tennessee's work space is limited this spring, so the Vols will split-up some with some groups working indoors and some outdoors.
- After Bill Belechick was in town to see Alvin Kamara and Derek Barnett last week, San Diego Chargers offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt was in town to workout quarterback Josh Dobbs.
Everyone wants to know about the quarterbacks. We just saw them throwing against ‘air’ today but I thought both looked crisp. Really not a lot to judge guys on from today but both threw the ball really well. I thought Guarantano in particular hit several guys in stride on deep balls and didn’t really notice either being badly off-target at any point.
Offensively one thing that really jumps out is that this team is going to need help from one or two freshman running backs in this class. Even if Carlin Fils-Aime has a great spring and earns a role, there’s still going to be ample opportunity for one of the newcomers to make a mark in fall camp. Looking at you Ty Chandler.
A lot of eyeballs are on Trey Smith this spring. We probably won’t have a clear idea of what he’s going to be able to do after spring, but man, physically, he absolutely looks the part. Smith already looks one of the most physically developed guys on the offensive line regardless of class.
On the defensive side I thought Daniel Bituli looked good just running around in space. The winter in the weight room has clearly been good for him and he looked sharp and explosive.
I was a little surprised to see that Austin Smith was back at linebacker and Jaquan Blakely was at defensive end. From the looks of things, Blakely belongs there with his frame and build but given the depth issues, I thought Smith would stay there as well. Maybe that means the staff really likes what they’ve seen from Deandre Johnson? Not sure but that’s something to keep an eye on.
Darrell Taylor definitely looks bigger, no mistake about that. He’s got a huge opportunity in front of him this spring and from the looks of his body, he’s working to take advantage of it. Jonathan Kongbo, not surprisingly, looks like a million bucks just running around in drills. Now he’s got to show up in live action.
Marquill Osborne looked like he was working with the cornerbacks today and I thought he looked like he had gotten a little bigger and more defined. Big chance for him at a position that’s unsettled.
Tennessee worked a ton of different guys on punt returns today; Nigel Warrior, Latrell Williams, John Kelly, Justin Martin, Marquez Callaway, Emmanuel Moseley and Osborne were just a few of the guys getting work back there.
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