Cainer & Ben notes
In typical East Tennessee fashion, Saturday’s scrimmage began with overcast, cold weather with sleet coming down. By the time the scrimmage was over, the sun was out and it was in the mid-50s. It was a crappy weather day, but the team braced the elements regardless.
Right off the bat, there were a ton of players who were held out today. I would say most were precautionary, just being a bit banged up. Others were the routine players OUT because of offseason surgeries, or something similar to the nature.
Players on defense who did NOT play were cornerbacks Warren Burrell, Kamal Hadden, Brandon Turnage and DeShawn Rucker. Defensive backs Christian Charles and Doneiko Slaughter did not play. Linebackers William Mohan and Juwan Mitchell did not play.
Offensive players held out were center Cooper Mays, tackle Dayne Davis, running back Jabari Small, tight end Princeton Fant and wide receivers Cedric Tillman, Chas Nimrod and Cameron Miler.
Player rotations on offense today included:
FIRST TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Crawford, Lane, Carvin (center), Spraggins, Wright
TE: Jacob Warren
WRs: Holiday, Keyton, Hyatt (slot)
RB: Wright
QB: Hooker
SECOND TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Mincey, Robinson, Ball, Lampley, Perry
TE: Solmon
WRs: Calloway, Merrill, Jancek
RB: Whitehead
QB: Milton
THIRD TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Parker, Edwards, Nichols, Clipper, Grant
RB: Williams-Thomas
TE: Bower
WRs: Webb, Frerking, Squirrel (slot)
Player rotations on offense today included:
FIRST TEAM
DL: BY, Thomas, Garland, Baron
LBs: Banks, Beasley
STAR: McDonald
Safeties: McCollough, Flowers
CBs: Williams, Wright (walk-on)
SECOND TEAM
DL: combination of Young, Harrison, Simmons, McNeill, Garland, Bailey, Eason
LBs: Willis, Pak Garland
DBs: all walk-on’s, including LB Jackson Hannah at STAR and LaBruzza at safety
THIRD TEAM
Freshmen Tyre West and Jordan Phillips on the DL. Elijah Herring at LB. Only scholarship players out there for the most part on this unit.
The teams were mixed and intertwined all afternoon, so don’t take those groups above to the grave. Just something to go off of to this point.
The scrimmage started with the first-team offense moving down the field with some nice runs from Jaylen Wright. It ended with a sharp pass from Hendon Hooker to Jacob Warren on a rollout to the end zone. We will call it 10 yards or so.
The second drive with the second team ended with about a 30-yardish pass-and-catch from Joe Milton to Jack Janzek for a score. It was setup by a long run from Len’Neth Whitehead.
After that, it got a little wild and the defense really started to take over. Note: Hendon Hooker didn’t play much – maybe two series at most.
The defense managed three touchdowns on the day and a safety. The latter came on a bad snap from Addison Nichols that was fallen on by the defensive line. It was setup by a Jordan Phillips sack. The defensive touchdowns were two pick-sixes and a scoop-n-score TD.
Justin Williams-Thomas fumbled a ball that was scooped up and taken to the house by Omari Thomas. Will Brooks (walk-on) intercepted Navy Shuler and returned it for a touchdown. The final defensive score came off a Gaston Moore tipped ball by Tyre West that was picked off by Elijah Herring and taken to the end zone.
All these scores came when the offense was backed up inside its own territory on the make-shift practice field.
Joe Milton looked good today. He dropped a beautiful dime down the sideline to Ramel Keyton earlier in the scrimmage. Jimmy Calloway took a swing pass to the house in impressive fashion. With the offense backed up, Calloway was sent into motion. He then caught the ball, reversed field and took it to the end zone on the far sideline. I thought Keyton played well today. Hyatt made a few catches, but wasn’t a major factor.
As the scrimmage went on and the young guys got reps, Addison Nichols struggled with his snaps. Keep in mind, he’d never snapped a football until about two weeks ago or so. One bad snap resulted in a safety, another one was well-high when Tayven Jackson went up to snag it, saving what could have been a safety. Heupel said post-scrimmage that he wasn’t worried about Nichols, noting ‘he’ll be a great one.’
Trevon Flowers, Tamarion McDonald and Tyre West stood out to me on defense.
Flowers was calling plays out before they happened at times, leading to two big TFLs from McDonald on screen passes. West batted a few balls down and made a couple of stops at the line of scrimmage.
Guys who got a little banged up in the scrimmage: Baron (returned), Jaylen Wright (did not return) – probably out of precaution
Again, it was a short scrimmage with lots of guys OUT. Tons of young guys got in and tons of big plays came against some guys who probably wouldn’t be out there on Saturdays to be honest. Overall, I thought both first-team offensive and defensive lines did well. Thought the first-two offensive units looked good.
I’ll say this. Nothing about the left tackles (Crawford/Mincey) blew me away today.
Players who stood out: Flowers, McDonald, Herring, West, Milton, Hooker, Whitehead, Wright, Keyton
Take it all with a grain of salt. Don’t put a lot of stock into it. It’s spring and a lot of these situations were coach-created. But these were out biggest takeaways.
Brent Hubbs notes
I learned years ago, that one scrimmage doesn’t make a fall camp and it doesn’t make a spring practice.
So when you look at Saturday’s scrimmage you have to keep things in perspective. Tennessee’s offensive line had it’s difficulties as the offense missed Cooper Mays at center. The Vol defensive front showed the ability to pressure the quarterback regularly.
Freshman Tyre West showed several times. I’m not saying that West is going to be some kind of freshman all-American, but he flashed well multiple times.
Defensively the Vols scored 3 touchdowns. Offensively, Jimmy Calloway showed his athletic ability with a long catch and run. Tamarion McDonald flashed multiple times at safety as well.
In the run game, Justin Williams-Thomas got plenty of work and showed some physicality as he continues to learn the offense.
Jaylen Wright showed a little more strength as well.
I thought Tayven Jackson threw the ball well and did some solid things at times. He had his freshman moments but he made a few plays as well.
My biggest takeaways from the Saturday work is that this team plays hard especially on defense. Several guys are beat up so we didn’t see the full offense as Hendon Hooker only got a couple of series and Cedric Tillman is banged up and didn’t scrimmage. This team needs Cooper Mays on the field and that depth on the offensive line is a concern which we knew already.
Rob Lewis notes
In typical East Tennessee fashion, Saturday’s scrimmage began with overcast, cold weather with sleet coming down. By the time the scrimmage was over, the sun was out and it was in the mid-50s. It was a crappy weather day, but the team braced the elements regardless.
Right off the bat, there were a ton of players who were held out today. I would say most were precautionary, just being a bit banged up. Others were the routine players OUT because of offseason surgeries, or something similar to the nature.
Players on defense who did NOT play were cornerbacks Warren Burrell, Kamal Hadden, Brandon Turnage and DeShawn Rucker. Defensive backs Christian Charles and Doneiko Slaughter did not play. Linebackers William Mohan and Juwan Mitchell did not play.
Offensive players held out were center Cooper Mays, tackle Dayne Davis, running back Jabari Small, tight end Princeton Fant and wide receivers Cedric Tillman, Chas Nimrod and Cameron Miler.
Player rotations on offense today included:
FIRST TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Crawford, Lane, Carvin (center), Spraggins, Wright
TE: Jacob Warren
WRs: Holiday, Keyton, Hyatt (slot)
RB: Wright
QB: Hooker
SECOND TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Mincey, Robinson, Ball, Lampley, Perry
TE: Solmon
WRs: Calloway, Merrill, Jancek
RB: Whitehead
QB: Milton
THIRD TEAM
OL (l-to-r): Parker, Edwards, Nichols, Clipper, Grant
RB: Williams-Thomas
TE: Bower
WRs: Webb, Frerking, Squirrel (slot)
Player rotations on offense today included:
FIRST TEAM
DL: BY, Thomas, Garland, Baron
LBs: Banks, Beasley
STAR: McDonald
Safeties: McCollough, Flowers
CBs: Williams, Wright (walk-on)
SECOND TEAM
DL: combination of Young, Harrison, Simmons, McNeill, Garland, Bailey, Eason
LBs: Willis, Pak Garland
DBs: all walk-on’s, including LB Jackson Hannah at STAR and LaBruzza at safety
THIRD TEAM
Freshmen Tyre West and Jordan Phillips on the DL. Elijah Herring at LB. Only scholarship players out there for the most part on this unit.
The teams were mixed and intertwined all afternoon, so don’t take those groups above to the grave. Just something to go off of to this point.
The scrimmage started with the first-team offense moving down the field with some nice runs from Jaylen Wright. It ended with a sharp pass from Hendon Hooker to Jacob Warren on a rollout to the end zone. We will call it 10 yards or so.
The second drive with the second team ended with about a 30-yardish pass-and-catch from Joe Milton to Jack Janzek for a score. It was setup by a long run from Len’Neth Whitehead.
After that, it got a little wild and the defense really started to take over. Note: Hendon Hooker didn’t play much – maybe two series at most.
The defense managed three touchdowns on the day and a safety. The latter came on a bad snap from Addison Nichols that was fallen on by the defensive line. It was setup by a Jordan Phillips sack. The defensive touchdowns were two pick-sixes and a scoop-n-score TD.
Justin Williams-Thomas fumbled a ball that was scooped up and taken to the house by Omari Thomas. Will Brooks (walk-on) intercepted Navy Shuler and returned it for a touchdown. The final defensive score came off a Gaston Moore tipped ball by Tyre West that was picked off by Elijah Herring and taken to the end zone.
All these scores came when the offense was backed up inside its own territory on the make-shift practice field.
Joe Milton looked good today. He dropped a beautiful dime down the sideline to Ramel Keyton earlier in the scrimmage. Jimmy Calloway took a swing pass to the house in impressive fashion. With the offense backed up, Calloway was sent into motion. He then caught the ball, reversed field and took it to the end zone on the far sideline. I thought Keyton played well today. Hyatt made a few catches, but wasn’t a major factor.
As the scrimmage went on and the young guys got reps, Addison Nichols struggled with his snaps. Keep in mind, he’d never snapped a football until about two weeks ago or so. One bad snap resulted in a safety, another one was well-high when Tayven Jackson went up to snag it, saving what could have been a safety. Heupel said post-scrimmage that he wasn’t worried about Nichols, noting ‘he’ll be a great one.’
Trevon Flowers, Tamarion McDonald and Tyre West stood out to me on defense.
Flowers was calling plays out before they happened at times, leading to two big TFLs from McDonald on screen passes. West batted a few balls down and made a couple of stops at the line of scrimmage.
Guys who got a little banged up in the scrimmage: Baron (returned), Jaylen Wright (did not return) – probably out of precaution
Again, it was a short scrimmage with lots of guys OUT. Tons of young guys got in and tons of big plays came against some guys who probably wouldn’t be out there on Saturdays to be honest. Overall, I thought both first-team offensive and defensive lines did well. Thought the first-two offensive units looked good.
I’ll say this. Nothing about the left tackles (Crawford/Mincey) blew me away today.
Players who stood out: Flowers, McDonald, Herring, West, Milton, Hooker, Whitehead, Wright, Keyton
Take it all with a grain of salt. Don’t put a lot of stock into it. It’s spring and a lot of these situations were coach-created. But these were out biggest takeaways.
Brent Hubbs notes
I learned years ago, that one scrimmage doesn’t make a fall camp and it doesn’t make a spring practice.
So when you look at Saturday’s scrimmage you have to keep things in perspective. Tennessee’s offensive line had it’s difficulties as the offense missed Cooper Mays at center. The Vol defensive front showed the ability to pressure the quarterback regularly.
Freshman Tyre West showed several times. I’m not saying that West is going to be some kind of freshman all-American, but he flashed well multiple times.
Defensively the Vols scored 3 touchdowns. Offensively, Jimmy Calloway showed his athletic ability with a long catch and run. Tamarion McDonald flashed multiple times at safety as well.
In the run game, Justin Williams-Thomas got plenty of work and showed some physicality as he continues to learn the offense.
Jaylen Wright showed a little more strength as well.
I thought Tayven Jackson threw the ball well and did some solid things at times. He had his freshman moments but he made a few plays as well.
My biggest takeaways from the Saturday work is that this team plays hard especially on defense. Several guys are beat up so we didn’t see the full offense as Hendon Hooker only got a couple of series and Cedric Tillman is banged up and didn’t scrimmage. This team needs Cooper Mays on the field and that depth on the offensive line is a concern which we knew already.
Rob Lewis notes
