With more than 150 police officers in attendance, Tennessee held its 11 practice of the spring for "Law Enforcement Day" on "Fundamental Thursday."
Butch Jones, whose father was a cop, was sporting a Tennessee police cap during practice.
As for the proceedings, it was another light day with spring practice wrapping up. The Vols were in shells, more veterans were given the day off, while a couple guys later excited practice with minor injuries.
Going to be really interesting in how Jones manages the Orange & White Game next Saturday because it looks like it might just be the Walk-On World Series.
Quick hitters
* Before walking off with what appeared to be a minor ankle injury, John Kelly was diligently coaching the four walk-on tailbacks for much of practice.
* The punt returners did the same drill as Tuesday, forced to catch the ball with one hand and then avoid a workout ball after fielding the punt.
* KO returners included Tyler Byrd, Justin Martin and Marquez Callaway
* Walt Wells (checkout the video) was none-to pleased with the OL effort Thursday. With a lot of young guys getting reps, Wells was coaching the group hard, trying to get great reps from guys like Ryan Johnson, Riley Locklear and Trey Smith.
* There were a ton of drops during the routes on air period. Latrell Williams especially struggled, drawing some faint criticism from Jones. Tyler Byrd did look really good in the drill, though. Brandon Johnson did some light work during the drill, even slipping but recovering for a catch on a deep out. Jeff George and others also slipped a couple times.
* Quarterbacks were OK on Thursday, but it certainly wasn't their sharpest performance. JG had some accuracy issues early before finding his rhythm. They focused on a lot of roll-outs and crossing routes initially before throwing a lot of deep corners and outs to end the session.
* Deandre Johnson had his black stripe removed, joining Trey Smith as two EE's to earn the honor this spring.
* Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer was at practice.
@Rob Lewis notes
It was ‘fundamental Thursday’ for Butch Jones’ football team today which had the Vols in ‘shells,’ dialing back the physicality of practice to some degree.
As usual, we saw a lot of special teams work, today that focused on kickoff return. Early signs indicate that the four guys getting the longest at kickoff return duties (with Evan Berry sidelined) are Tyler Byrd, Marquez Callaway, Latrell Williams and Nigel Warrior.
On defense, early enrollee Deandre Johnson has had his black stripe removed, joining classmate Trey Smith in that particular club. Johnson continues to generate some solid buzz in camp
Also on defense, Quarte Sapp was doing more today than we’ve seen him do at any point this spring. Now, that obviously didn’t include contact on a ‘shell day’ but Sapp was hitting the sled with the other linebackers and taking part in some drill work that we haven’t seen him do to this point.
Similarly, Brandon Johnson did some light work with the quarterbacks and receivers today when they were just throwing against air. Johnson is clearly pushing himself to get back.
One thing that’s standing out this spring, and it could be a reflection of finally having a quarterback coach, is that the QBs footwork is getting a ton of attention from Mike Canales. Not that it was ignored in the past but it’s something Canales really seems to put a great deal of emphasis on.
Butch Jones, whose father was a cop, was sporting a Tennessee police cap during practice.
As for the proceedings, it was another light day with spring practice wrapping up. The Vols were in shells, more veterans were given the day off, while a couple guys later excited practice with minor injuries.
Going to be really interesting in how Jones manages the Orange & White Game next Saturday because it looks like it might just be the Walk-On World Series.
Quick hitters
* Before walking off with what appeared to be a minor ankle injury, John Kelly was diligently coaching the four walk-on tailbacks for much of practice.
* The punt returners did the same drill as Tuesday, forced to catch the ball with one hand and then avoid a workout ball after fielding the punt.
* KO returners included Tyler Byrd, Justin Martin and Marquez Callaway
* Walt Wells (checkout the video) was none-to pleased with the OL effort Thursday. With a lot of young guys getting reps, Wells was coaching the group hard, trying to get great reps from guys like Ryan Johnson, Riley Locklear and Trey Smith.
* There were a ton of drops during the routes on air period. Latrell Williams especially struggled, drawing some faint criticism from Jones. Tyler Byrd did look really good in the drill, though. Brandon Johnson did some light work during the drill, even slipping but recovering for a catch on a deep out. Jeff George and others also slipped a couple times.
* Quarterbacks were OK on Thursday, but it certainly wasn't their sharpest performance. JG had some accuracy issues early before finding his rhythm. They focused on a lot of roll-outs and crossing routes initially before throwing a lot of deep corners and outs to end the session.
* Deandre Johnson had his black stripe removed, joining Trey Smith as two EE's to earn the honor this spring.
* Former Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer was at practice.
@Rob Lewis notes
It was ‘fundamental Thursday’ for Butch Jones’ football team today which had the Vols in ‘shells,’ dialing back the physicality of practice to some degree.
As usual, we saw a lot of special teams work, today that focused on kickoff return. Early signs indicate that the four guys getting the longest at kickoff return duties (with Evan Berry sidelined) are Tyler Byrd, Marquez Callaway, Latrell Williams and Nigel Warrior.
On defense, early enrollee Deandre Johnson has had his black stripe removed, joining classmate Trey Smith in that particular club. Johnson continues to generate some solid buzz in camp
Also on defense, Quarte Sapp was doing more today than we’ve seen him do at any point this spring. Now, that obviously didn’t include contact on a ‘shell day’ but Sapp was hitting the sled with the other linebackers and taking part in some drill work that we haven’t seen him do to this point.
Similarly, Brandon Johnson did some light work with the quarterbacks and receivers today when they were just throwing against air. Johnson is clearly pushing himself to get back.
One thing that’s standing out this spring, and it could be a reflection of finally having a quarterback coach, is that the QBs footwork is getting a ton of attention from Mike Canales. Not that it was ignored in the past but it’s something Canales really seems to put a great deal of emphasis on.
