Practice 1 Updates 3.21

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Fingers

Fingers

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[youtube]http://youtu.be/_KnKsPFQvLw[/youtube]

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-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.
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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.
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From L-R, Drew Richmond, Jashon Robertson, Coleman Thomas, Jack Jones and Marcus Tatum took the initial reps.
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Ballyhooed freshman Trey Smith certainly looked the part Tuesday, lining up exclusively at left tackle.
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Redshirt freshman Ja’Quian Blakely was working exclusively with the defensive ends. Meanwhile, Austin Smith was back at linebacker.
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Jesse Simonton

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.
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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.
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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.
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Rob Lewis

VQ Video: https://vimeo.com/209460376

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We didn’t see much throwing from the quarterbacks. I didn’t, anyway. All four of the scholarship quarterbacks look good physically, though. They’ve all been hard at work the past few months, and you can tell. As far as first-team, second-team, etc., I noticed junior Quinten Dormady taking snaps from first-team center Coleman Thomas during drills, for whatever that’s worth. I’m not sure if that means Dormady is a first-teamer on the “organizational” chart, though.
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Freshman offensive tackle Trey Smith is absolutely staggering in size for a kid who should still be in high school. Absolute manimal. But he’s definitely got some technique things to work on, as you’d expect. It was good to see sophomore Drew Richmond — someone who’s certainly competing with Smith fro playing time — helping Smith during drills, though. Teamwork makes the dream work, right?
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And I think it’s safe to say junior running back John Kelly is one of those leaders. That’s easy to see on the practice field. He’s an energy guy, and teammates gravitate toward him.
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Rucker

Freshman defensive end Deandre Johnson and freshman linebacker Shanon Reid, two of the early enrollees from Tennessee’s 2017 signing class, both showed good athleticism and speed during individual drills.
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The Vols opened the spring relatively healthy at cornerback, with rising seniors Justin Martin and Emmanuel Moseley leading the way. Rising sophomores Baylen Buchanan and Marquill Osborne also got plenty of work during cornerback drills, as did D.J. Henderson, a junior-college transfer who redshirted last season.

Wide receiver Latrell Williams, Osborne and Warrior all fielded kickoffs during Tennessee’s early special-teams work. Wide receiver Marquez Callaway, Moseley, Buchanan and Martin all worked on punt returns.
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Callahan

What stands out about Dormady, obviously, is his arm strength and accuracy. His throwing motion is rather effortless and his ball is rarely not a tight spiral. He had a couple passes sail high during the early portions of throwing on air, but settled in and didn’t miss much after that.

None of the above is to downplay Jarrett Guarantano. He took the second reps and obviously looks like a really good quarterback, too. What’s obvious after Day One, and not a surprise, is that Tennessee has two quarterbacks that are really skilled at throwing the football.
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Ramey

Both Dormady and Guarantano started out a bit rusty when working on the deep routes. Both were behind and outside on some go routes down the sideline, but both also seemed to settle in after a few throws.

The best throw of the day may have come from Guarantano on a deep route to walk-on tight end Andrew Craig as he hit him right in stride near the goal line. Keep in mind, all of these throws were against air, with no pass rush and with no pads on. So while both showed they have the tools to be the starter, it’ll probably take several practices, at minimum, to get much of an idea of who is separating in this race.
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Several of the second-year players such as Nathan Niehaus, Ryan Johnson and Devante Brooks, who is transitioning from tight end to tackle, all looked to have added some good weight and look closer to playing.
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ou could see the difference that Butch Jones spoke about with Jonathan Kongbo. Working primarily at defensive end this spring, Kongbo looks noticeably leaner and quicker this spring as he’s playing closer to 260 pounds. Tennessee will ask a lot of him coming off the edge with the Vols replacing Derek Barnett, Corey Vereen and LaTroy Lewis in 2017.
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One other noticeable absence from practice: A lot of screaming from Butch Jones. Heading into his fifth year, and with a completely new-look staff, Jones was about as quiet as I’ve ever heard on the practice field. Is that a sign that he’s turning a little more over to his staff, or just a first day anomaly? We’ll keep listening.
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Daniel Lewis

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3AJkP3XdFg[/youtube]

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[youtube]http://youtu.be/xCAb-6Q1IfU[/youtube]

[youtube]http://youtu.be/hTu9fl5PPYo[/youtube]

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2jZtNPq1jM[/youtube]
 
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#10
#10
Imo, Looks like they're working a lot more on technique with the QBs, WRs, DBs...I like...
 
#14
#14
Dobbs 4 Heisman said:
If Jarrett Guarantano doesn't start, Butch Jones deserves to be fired.
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If Dormady does win the job, maybe you should watch a few games before grabbing your pitchfork. I know you probably know more than an SEC coaching staff, but maybe you should humor them.
 
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