Only three practices now separate Team 120 from April 16th’s DISH Orange & White Game.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Practice moved indoors on Thursday as Tennessee completed its 11th workout of the spring season.

Team 120 went to work in full pads, practicing for roughly two hours on the turf field inside the Anderson Training Center. The Vols will take Friday off before culminating their fourth week of spring drills with a Saturday practice at Neyland Stadium. It will be UT’s final workout inside Neyland before welcoming Vol Nation to the iconic venue next Saturday for the DISH Orange & White Game.

The DISH Orange & White Game on April 16 at 2 p.m. ET marks the culmination of Tennessee’s spring season. Admission to the Orange & White Game is free to the public, but it will also be televised nationally on the SEC Network.

Mike DeBord | Offensive Coordinator | 2nd Season

With the departure of Kyler Kerbyson at left tackle, the Vols have been looking for someone to step in and protect Joshua Dobbs’ blind side. WithChance Hall out for the spring, redshirt freshman Drew Richmond has gained an opportunity at the left tackle spot. Offensive coordinator Mike DeBordtalked on Thursday about Richmond’s improvement this spring.

“He’s working on (both the mental and) the physical part. He has displayed times when he has been very physical and all that, and I think the times when he hasn’t, he’s gotten in trouble with footwork. He’s really doing a good job right now of improving upon that. His physical play, I’m not worried about.”

Bob Shoop | Defensive Coordinator | 1st Season

The senior safety duo of Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil combined for 100 games played for the Vols, with 529 tackles and 13 interceptions from 2011-15. Losing those two to graduation, defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has been faced with the challenge of finding younger, less experienced players to step into those roles. Speaking with the media Thursday afternoon, Coach Shoop identified three members of Team 120 that he feels are up to the challenge.

“The three guys that have separated themselves, in no particular order. Todd Kelly Jr. has the most game experience, and it shows. He’s starting to practice a lot better, more consistently. He’s doing everything we want. He communicates. He understands the package. I think he’s starting to develop some confidence and I think he’s starting to grow as a player, to an upper-level SEC player. Rashaan [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][Gaulden] is so talented. I’ve always known that about him. We’ve had a relationship for a long, long time. He’s fast. He can cover people. He’s got a lot of skills of a corner and a nickel, and he’s got the desire to hit like a safety … Micah [Abernathy] is a very versatile player. We’re trying to find a way to get Micah Abernathy on the field. He’s played nickel in the past. He’s played strong safety for us this spring. He’s really excited about that and very eager. He’s a little bit like Rashaan. He just needs to continue to get repetitions in scrimmage situations and live situations without me or Willie (Martinez) behind him, helping him out through that. He needs all that he can get.”

Steve Stripling | Associate Head Coach | 4th Season

Despite some notable injuries affecting depth along the defensive line during this spring season, associate head coach and defensive line coach Steve Stripling appreciates the fight he’s seeing from his unit day-in and day-out. While some experienced players watch from the sideline, Stripling has the benefit of having a veteran contingent still healthy and improving each week. Stripling pointed to redshirt senior LaTroy Lewis, junior Dimarya Mixon, redshirt senior Danny O’Brien, and senior Corey Vereen as the cornerstones for this spring’s D-line progress.

“(Dimarya Mixon) always had great tools. He can run, he’s big. But I think he’s starting to develop, starting to mature, starting to show up at times. His hand violence is one area that has really made some progress. (Corey) Vereen has been on kind of a special program this spring where he’s only working on Saturdays. But the great thing to see is that he’s been able to go out there and consistently perform. I think LaTroy (Lewis) has been the warrior of our group the whole spring. He’s taken almost every rep. The development of Vereen and Lewis and Mixon helps us because obviously we’d like to get Derek (Barnett) off the field a little bit more.”

Zach Azzanni | Wide Receivers Coach | 4th Season

Wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator Zach Azzani continues to preach consistency as he leads a youthful batch of wide receivers through spring camp. With a goal of keeping his young receiving corps on a steady incline, he believes that the unit should b well prepared for the upcoming season. By practicing in high and low intensity increments he hopes that this will save his players of injury and also mimic an in-game experience. With expectations already set for fall season, Azzani hopes that the spring season will familiarize the wide receivers with the quarterbacks, and vice versa.

“Quinten [Dormady] is different from Josh [Dobbs], they have different skill sets and they throw the ball different. We have to learn that with the new receivers and I think we are. We’ve made it a point of emphasis this spring. We have some big play capabilities out there, those guys are as good as you’ll find running the deep ball. We just have to keep working on it and Coach Jones has made it a point of emphasis this spring to do so.”

SOUND BITES

Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord
(On difference between freshman and sophomore year)

“When a freshman comes in and you present your terminology, that’s like walking into a foreign language class for the first time. I can’t really recall those days, but that wouldn’t be too much fun for me. When you have a freshman, they are learning new terminology, sometimes new plays and new coaching that goes with the plays. You throw a lot at them, now you go the second time around, we’ve added a few wrinkles in our offense, but the terminology hasn’t changed. So they feel more comfortable and they are able to display their physical abilities instead of having to think about it.”

Defensive coordinator Bob Shoop
(On the difficulty of playing on the defensive line in the SEC)

“Every single day for a lineman in the SEC is not an easy day. You have to bring your hard hat and lunch bag to work every day because it’s never easy. Every day is going to be a fight.”

Defensive line coach Steve Stripling
(On the challenges that come with missing so many defensive lineman due to injury)

“Last spring was tough, but this one’s almost a little bit more to be honest with you. There’s certain days we’ve gone out there with only seven D-lineman for the practice. So it’s challenging, especially for the young men with conditioning. They have to be mentally tough enough to continue to progress throughout the practice. But it’s great for the guys who are getting the reps.”

Wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni
(On junior college transfer and WR Jeff George’s progression)

“This is a learning system for a junior college player to come in here and go through our grind. They didn’t play like this and our style of play is different. The weight room is different and I think he’s gained 14 pounds of muscle since he got here in January. All of those things are making him a better player. He bounces back fine and he’s easy to coach.