The Vols conducted Practice No. 12 inside Neyland Stadium Saturday morning and early afternoon, welcoming tons of high school coaches, law enforcement officials and faculty into the venue for the annual clinic and appreciation day.
It remains a hollowed-out Tennessee roster due to injury, and more familiar faces were missing on this day as well.
Here, however, are the observations from the five open periods, two of which were live team settings.
JOHN'S TAKES:
It's somewhat taken for granted, but Cam Sutton is incredibly smooth fielding punts. Just never panics, never rushes, always in control. Alvin Kamara is very similar, and Preston Williams also is improving greatly in that regard. Normally sure-handed Josh Smith made some difficult catches on teams but bobbled one punt. Smith also had a nifty reception from Josh Dobbs, though defense won the early day.
Incredibly thinned out, the Vols' wide receivers who started with the first-team offense were Williams, Smith and Cody Blanc. We saw Alvin Kamara once again get some burn at wideout.
Both Trevor Daniel and Tommy Townsend had solid days punting; we didn't see Aaron Medley on any field goal attempts.
John Kelly, again showcasing his hard-nosed, selfless approach, continues to be a fixture on virtually all special teams units, including kickoff return and coverage, as well as getting the majority of work with the first-team offense.
The offensive line remained consistent, with Drew Richmond, Venzell Boulware, Coleman Thomas, Dylan Wiesman and Brett Kendrick starting from left to right.
The second-team offensive line consisted of Dontavius Blair, Boulware, Ray Raulerson, Charles Mosley and Austin Sanders, from left to right.
Quarte Sapp has been a beast all spring and continues to play like a guy who will show up on the field in the fall.
ROB'S TAKES:
It was a small sample size of 11-on-11 work that we saw today (approx. 15 minutes) but it looked like a good showing for the defense. Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara both had a very light workload so that has to be taken into account, but the ground game didn’t have any explosive plays and struggled to move the chains.
In the passing game both drops and accuracy were a problem in the scrimmage work we saw. Josh Dobbs hit Josh Smith for one apparent first down on a play where Smith made a really nice grab on the ball.
Defensively, Quarte Sapp continues to show up with regularity. It’s worth noting that he’s doing almost all of his work against the second offense but he shows up around the ball so frequently that you can’t discount what he’s doing. He appears to be having a great spring.
Marquill Osborne has made the most of the jump-start he’s gotten on his college career. He’s shown early on that he’s not afraid to mix it up and everyone got a reminder today when he absolutely stuck Malik Foreman during a live kick return. He looks like another example of the Vols really upgrading their secondary talent in recent years.
PAUL'S TAKES:
Tennessee practiced in Neyland Stadium on Saturday and after a few individual drills the Vols got to work in some scrimmage settings. There were, once again, a number of regular contributors that weren't with the Vols on Saturday but some familiar faces showed up in the periods we saw.Rashaan Gaulden showed up with a nice pass deflection and near interception as Josh Dobbs tried to find Josh Smith on a deep crossing pattern.Quarte Sapp came across the field and had a nice tackle. It's easy to see why coaches like him as he covers ground very quickly.Offensively, John Kelly continued to keep playing well. He knows how to lower his shoulder and get the tough yards and even though it's not always the flashiest play.Also, 2018 offensive lineman Reuben Unije is in town to visit.
AUSTIN'S TAKES:
Butch Jones was very active on the mic early in practice challenging his team. At one point during live kickoff work, Butch was all over Eli Wolf as he was reminding him he is trying to make this team. The passing game has been hampered by injury and what has been a very active Tennessee secondary this spring. That was no different on Saturday as Rashaan Gaulden continues to be a load in the backend of the defense. Gaulden's pressure forced some rushed throws and Cortez McDowell was the beneficiary as he picked off Josh Dobbs, according to chatter. He wasn't the only Vol quarterback picked off on the day as Quinten Dormady also turned the ball over. Add in some untimely drops from the wide receivers and Saturday will be marked as a good teaching day for the throw game. It continues to be an eye-opening experience for JUCO transfer Jeff George who shows signs, but then has some tough drops. One player who continues to impress and show he has grown past the drops that plagued him three years ago is Josh Smith. He made a great catch with Gaulden breathing down his neck during the open portion of practice. There was a Cody Blanc sighting on Saturday as the often injured Knoxville native caught a touchdown in goal line work. In the trenches, the Vols did some work in blitz pick-up as they continue to work on protecting Dobbs more effectively. Future Vols Austin Pope and Cade Mays were both in attendance.
Kahlil McKenzie continued to be a force, even charging through the line and getting to a Vols ball-carrier behind the line of scrimmage.
It remains a hollowed-out Tennessee roster due to injury, and more familiar faces were missing on this day as well.
Here, however, are the observations from the five open periods, two of which were live team settings.
JOHN'S TAKES:
It's somewhat taken for granted, but Cam Sutton is incredibly smooth fielding punts. Just never panics, never rushes, always in control. Alvin Kamara is very similar, and Preston Williams also is improving greatly in that regard. Normally sure-handed Josh Smith made some difficult catches on teams but bobbled one punt. Smith also had a nifty reception from Josh Dobbs, though defense won the early day.
Incredibly thinned out, the Vols' wide receivers who started with the first-team offense were Williams, Smith and Cody Blanc. We saw Alvin Kamara once again get some burn at wideout.
Both Trevor Daniel and Tommy Townsend had solid days punting; we didn't see Aaron Medley on any field goal attempts.
John Kelly, again showcasing his hard-nosed, selfless approach, continues to be a fixture on virtually all special teams units, including kickoff return and coverage, as well as getting the majority of work with the first-team offense.
The offensive line remained consistent, with Drew Richmond, Venzell Boulware, Coleman Thomas, Dylan Wiesman and Brett Kendrick starting from left to right.
The second-team offensive line consisted of Dontavius Blair, Boulware, Ray Raulerson, Charles Mosley and Austin Sanders, from left to right.
Quarte Sapp has been a beast all spring and continues to play like a guy who will show up on the field in the fall.
ROB'S TAKES:
It was a small sample size of 11-on-11 work that we saw today (approx. 15 minutes) but it looked like a good showing for the defense. Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara both had a very light workload so that has to be taken into account, but the ground game didn’t have any explosive plays and struggled to move the chains.
In the passing game both drops and accuracy were a problem in the scrimmage work we saw. Josh Dobbs hit Josh Smith for one apparent first down on a play where Smith made a really nice grab on the ball.
Defensively, Quarte Sapp continues to show up with regularity. It’s worth noting that he’s doing almost all of his work against the second offense but he shows up around the ball so frequently that you can’t discount what he’s doing. He appears to be having a great spring.
Marquill Osborne has made the most of the jump-start he’s gotten on his college career. He’s shown early on that he’s not afraid to mix it up and everyone got a reminder today when he absolutely stuck Malik Foreman during a live kick return. He looks like another example of the Vols really upgrading their secondary talent in recent years.
PAUL'S TAKES:
Tennessee practiced in Neyland Stadium on Saturday and after a few individual drills the Vols got to work in some scrimmage settings. There were, once again, a number of regular contributors that weren't with the Vols on Saturday but some familiar faces showed up in the periods we saw.Rashaan Gaulden showed up with a nice pass deflection and near interception as Josh Dobbs tried to find Josh Smith on a deep crossing pattern.Quarte Sapp came across the field and had a nice tackle. It's easy to see why coaches like him as he covers ground very quickly.Offensively, John Kelly continued to keep playing well. He knows how to lower his shoulder and get the tough yards and even though it's not always the flashiest play.Also, 2018 offensive lineman Reuben Unije is in town to visit.
AUSTIN'S TAKES:
Butch Jones was very active on the mic early in practice challenging his team. At one point during live kickoff work, Butch was all over Eli Wolf as he was reminding him he is trying to make this team. The passing game has been hampered by injury and what has been a very active Tennessee secondary this spring. That was no different on Saturday as Rashaan Gaulden continues to be a load in the backend of the defense. Gaulden's pressure forced some rushed throws and Cortez McDowell was the beneficiary as he picked off Josh Dobbs, according to chatter. He wasn't the only Vol quarterback picked off on the day as Quinten Dormady also turned the ball over. Add in some untimely drops from the wide receivers and Saturday will be marked as a good teaching day for the throw game. It continues to be an eye-opening experience for JUCO transfer Jeff George who shows signs, but then has some tough drops. One player who continues to impress and show he has grown past the drops that plagued him three years ago is Josh Smith. He made a great catch with Gaulden breathing down his neck during the open portion of practice. There was a Cody Blanc sighting on Saturday as the often injured Knoxville native caught a touchdown in goal line work. In the trenches, the Vols did some work in blitz pick-up as they continue to work on protecting Dobbs more effectively. Future Vols Austin Pope and Cade Mays were both in attendance.
Kahlil McKenzie continued to be a force, even charging through the line and getting to a Vols ball-carrier behind the line of scrimmage.
