John's takeaways:
Jalen Hurd, pads or not, is a beast. That much was evident; he's looking even more explosive. The Vols' other backs, Alvin Kamara and John Kelly, also showed well. Kelly will get a ton of work this spring.
Josh Dobbs showed some improved velocity and arm-strength, as well as some impressive accuracy in routes on air. He was good but timing wasn't as smooth --- understandably --- when defensive players joined in the live drills.
Hard to say much about the offensive line, other than Drew Richmond and Venzell Boulware look im much-improved condition. Ditto big Charles Mosley, who has the best body form of his time here.
The Vols continued to extensively work punting drills, a carryover from throughout Butch Jones' time at UT.
Look for Cam Sutton and Jalen Reeves-Maybin also to be in that grouping of guys with severely reduced reps.
Justin Martin got plenty of work at left corner; he looks much-improved from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Darrin Kirkland Jr. played beyond a rookie last year; he looks even better.
Todd Kelly Jr. and Micah Abernathy are pretty interchangeable right now at safety while Malik Foreman and Marquill Osborne rounded out the group; Osborne clearly physically fits the mold.
Brent's views:
The wide receivers and quarterbacks seemed to get off to a good start. It was routes versus air but the timing with the unit seemed good.
Sophomore Jauan Jennings certainly seemed more comfortable at the receiver spot. Preston williams also caught the ball well. Jeff George seemed to get more comfortable as the practice went on. The passing game was not as crisp when it became 7 on 7 work.
At the tight end position Jason Croom looked comfortable and caught the ball well. The surprise at the position was Jacob Johnson who caught the ball the best he ever has.
Jalen Hurd looks fresh and quicker. This team is talented at running back.
Defensively it's the start of evaluations for defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. Kahlil McKenzie is definitely leaner. Darrell Taylor is certainly bigger.
On the recruiting front, Chase Hayden and his family cancelled a trip to Louisville to stay in town from Saturday's junior day to take in the Vols practice.
There is a reason this team is the best punt team in the country. They worked three different sets of periods on punt work.
Paul's views:
I'll start out with my first impressions of the new coaches. Larry Scott definitely has a lot of energy. He worked with the tackles some, too. That goes back to his background as a tackles coach as well as a tight ends coach.
Bob Shoop is very much about fundamentals, as Butch and others have said. They worked on pursuit angles and details like that. I believe that will be a fixture.
From a personnel standpoint, a few guys stood out. First, Darrell Taylor looks like he's ready to contribute. His redshirt year was very beneficial and he looks the part of a speedy edge rusher.
Several wide receivers looked like they are ready to step their game up as well. Preston Williams looks 100 percent healthy for probably the first time on the practice field. He wasn't perfect, but from a physical standpoint he looks really good and has a renewed energy. I also like Jauan Jennings. He looked much more comfortable out at receiver and made some nice adjustments to make nice catches.
Justin Martin has a chance to be really good. He's long, very athletic and seems to be playing with some real confidence right now.
Jeff George is interesting. He's very, very skinny. But, they put him out there in 7-on-7 and he made some catches after dropping some balls against air. He's got to gain a lot of weight, though.
Finally, Jason Croom will have a chance to be really good. For someone that weighs 255 pounds, he moves really, really well. If he can block, he's going to have a great opportunity this year.
Austin's take:
One practice in and I'm definitely impressed by Darrell Taylor. His athleticism was on full display and he can really move coming off the edge. During individual periods I was also impressed by Marquill Osborne. He was fluid, stacked, and showed a calm demeanor during some live work. Also in the back end making plays was Malik Foreman who picked up where he left off coming out of the bowl game. Offensively it's hard to get a good feel with no pads but Jauan Jennings had a spectacular grab and I thought Preston Williams was solid and snagged a couple of tough balls to catch. It's also easy to see what John wrote about with Jason Croom. He has always been large but today was a different looking large #18 in white.
Rob's views:
Drew Richmond looks like he put his redshirt year to good use. Has noticeably changed his body and looks quicker. Obviously it's an important spring for him as this team would benefit from him winning left tackle job definitively.
I'm sure we're all going to mention this guy, but Darrell Taylor, wow, looks like a different kid.
He's not the only second year player that stood out, Stephen Griffin also looks like the winter in the weight room was good for him. He's a long guy that's definitely looking bigger.
There's tons of opportunity at the receiver spot this spring. Based on the first day of practice Preston Williams seems intent on seizing himself some of that opportunity. Williams looked great today just from a physical standpoint, he was explosive, caught just about everything thrown his way and played with some obvious enthusiasm.
Jason Croon is obviously going to have to prove that he can handle the blocking part of his position switch, but he looked great today in skeleton drills and could be a match- up problem for people if he ca successfully make that switch.
Juco transfer Jeff George looks like a guy that absolutely needs to add some weight to his long frame to handle physical play, but he showed a nice set of hands today.
Marquill Osborne looked really good physically for a midterm enrollee working at nickel today. Looks like the Vols may have something to work with there.
Jalen Hurd, pads or not, is a beast. That much was evident; he's looking even more explosive. The Vols' other backs, Alvin Kamara and John Kelly, also showed well. Kelly will get a ton of work this spring.
Josh Dobbs showed some improved velocity and arm-strength, as well as some impressive accuracy in routes on air. He was good but timing wasn't as smooth --- understandably --- when defensive players joined in the live drills.
Hard to say much about the offensive line, other than Drew Richmond and Venzell Boulware look im much-improved condition. Ditto big Charles Mosley, who has the best body form of his time here.
The Vols continued to extensively work punting drills, a carryover from throughout Butch Jones' time at UT.
Look for Cam Sutton and Jalen Reeves-Maybin also to be in that grouping of guys with severely reduced reps.
Justin Martin got plenty of work at left corner; he looks much-improved from a strength and conditioning standpoint. Darrin Kirkland Jr. played beyond a rookie last year; he looks even better.
Todd Kelly Jr. and Micah Abernathy are pretty interchangeable right now at safety while Malik Foreman and Marquill Osborne rounded out the group; Osborne clearly physically fits the mold.
Brent's views:
The wide receivers and quarterbacks seemed to get off to a good start. It was routes versus air but the timing with the unit seemed good.
Sophomore Jauan Jennings certainly seemed more comfortable at the receiver spot. Preston williams also caught the ball well. Jeff George seemed to get more comfortable as the practice went on. The passing game was not as crisp when it became 7 on 7 work.
At the tight end position Jason Croom looked comfortable and caught the ball well. The surprise at the position was Jacob Johnson who caught the ball the best he ever has.
Jalen Hurd looks fresh and quicker. This team is talented at running back.
Defensively it's the start of evaluations for defensive coordinator Bob Shoop. Kahlil McKenzie is definitely leaner. Darrell Taylor is certainly bigger.
On the recruiting front, Chase Hayden and his family cancelled a trip to Louisville to stay in town from Saturday's junior day to take in the Vols practice.
There is a reason this team is the best punt team in the country. They worked three different sets of periods on punt work.
Paul's views:
I'll start out with my first impressions of the new coaches. Larry Scott definitely has a lot of energy. He worked with the tackles some, too. That goes back to his background as a tackles coach as well as a tight ends coach.
Bob Shoop is very much about fundamentals, as Butch and others have said. They worked on pursuit angles and details like that. I believe that will be a fixture.
From a personnel standpoint, a few guys stood out. First, Darrell Taylor looks like he's ready to contribute. His redshirt year was very beneficial and he looks the part of a speedy edge rusher.
Several wide receivers looked like they are ready to step their game up as well. Preston Williams looks 100 percent healthy for probably the first time on the practice field. He wasn't perfect, but from a physical standpoint he looks really good and has a renewed energy. I also like Jauan Jennings. He looked much more comfortable out at receiver and made some nice adjustments to make nice catches.
Justin Martin has a chance to be really good. He's long, very athletic and seems to be playing with some real confidence right now.
Jeff George is interesting. He's very, very skinny. But, they put him out there in 7-on-7 and he made some catches after dropping some balls against air. He's got to gain a lot of weight, though.
Finally, Jason Croom will have a chance to be really good. For someone that weighs 255 pounds, he moves really, really well. If he can block, he's going to have a great opportunity this year.
Austin's take:
One practice in and I'm definitely impressed by Darrell Taylor. His athleticism was on full display and he can really move coming off the edge. During individual periods I was also impressed by Marquill Osborne. He was fluid, stacked, and showed a calm demeanor during some live work. Also in the back end making plays was Malik Foreman who picked up where he left off coming out of the bowl game. Offensively it's hard to get a good feel with no pads but Jauan Jennings had a spectacular grab and I thought Preston Williams was solid and snagged a couple of tough balls to catch. It's also easy to see what John wrote about with Jason Croom. He has always been large but today was a different looking large #18 in white.
Rob's views:
Drew Richmond looks like he put his redshirt year to good use. Has noticeably changed his body and looks quicker. Obviously it's an important spring for him as this team would benefit from him winning left tackle job definitively.
I'm sure we're all going to mention this guy, but Darrell Taylor, wow, looks like a different kid.
He's not the only second year player that stood out, Stephen Griffin also looks like the winter in the weight room was good for him. He's a long guy that's definitely looking bigger.
There's tons of opportunity at the receiver spot this spring. Based on the first day of practice Preston Williams seems intent on seizing himself some of that opportunity. Williams looked great today just from a physical standpoint, he was explosive, caught just about everything thrown his way and played with some obvious enthusiasm.
Jason Croon is obviously going to have to prove that he can handle the blocking part of his position switch, but he looked great today in skeleton drills and could be a match- up problem for people if he ca successfully make that switch.
Juco transfer Jeff George looks like a guy that absolutely needs to add some weight to his long frame to handle physical play, but he showed a nice set of hands today.
Marquill Osborne looked really good physically for a midterm enrollee working at nickel today. Looks like the Vols may have something to work with there.
