Recruiting Forum: Football Talk XI

#7,102
#7,102
Just got off the water and catching up on the news. I like the season opener move. More exposure and recruiting feathers for ButchCo.
 

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#7,106
#7,106
JAllen18 said:
Our WR's have become a strength on this team compared to last year when they were a weakness. And we add in Preston Williams next year. Wow. Now just need the O-Line and a QB to step up.
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I honestly think if our O-Line can step up and give our QB time to throw then it won't matter who the QB is. The WR is just that much stronger, more experienced, and more talented than last year and they were also that much of weakness to our QBs last year.
 
#7,110
#7,110
@Vol_Football: Jones: I really liked our mental effort and intensity today. We maximized our potential. The players really competed.

@Vol_Football: Jones: We have named it Big Orange Weekend, starting with lettermans golf outing and continuing with VFL banquet on Friday night.

@Vol_Football: Jones: We will have a new award, the Al Wilson Leadership Award, will announce at the Orange & White Game.

@Vol_Football: Martinez: We have been giving Coleman more reps at the nickel. @EMoseley_4 has been able to play with energy and enthusiasm.

@patrickbrownTFP: Former players having a flag game during O&W game, complete with 13-ft trophy. Why? 'Because we're Tennessee,' says Butch Jones.
 
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#7,112
#7,112
@DanielNooga: Don Mahoney singles out Kyler Kerbyson as one of the guys having a great spring.

@Vol_Football: Jancek: @Dmixon52 is not the size we need right now, but he is continuing to get bigger and will help us down the road.

@Vol_Football: Jancek: @CurtMaggitt gives us an element we haven't had with his play and his leadership. We will stand him up and move him around.

@Vol_Football: Bajakian: Tight ends allow for multiplicity, the freshmen TEs have surprised me. They have played at a level of physicality that pleases me

@Vol_Football: Bajakian: North from Day 1 has had a mature approach. He works really hard and wants to be great. He is developing consistency.
 
#7,113
#7,113
Added Degree of Difficulty: From a distance, during punt fielding work, it appeared as if the return men were all wearing some new neon green gloves. Upon closer inspection, however, it wasn’t the gloves that were green but rather the tennis balls that they were holding in each hand as they fielded punts. The balls are held to minimize dexterity of the hands and force players like Emmanuel Moseley, Cam Sutton, and Devrin Young to focus on cradling the ball into their arms without relying strictly on their grip to make a catch. I hadn’t seen this drill used before by this staff and all the players fielding punts had no trouble adjusting to the challenge as no punts were muffed during the drill.



Darr’s Transformation: Last summer during practice Matt Darr was the most inconsistent punter on the roster. He struggled fielding the snap, he struggled with his release time, and his punts were mostly shanks. Flat out, he did not look like a college level punter, let alone a guy you could rely on in the SEC. That being said, whatever he did in the offseason and whatever Butch Jones and his position coaches have changed about his form is working in spades. Matt Darr is punting faster and more consistently than he ever has. Tonight he was consistently hitting 55-yard punts in the air with solid hang time and he was getting them off quickly. If Darr continues to improve at this rate, he could compete for some punter awards this season.



Quarterbacks in Team Period: Justin Worley took the reps at first team quarterback tonight in the team portion of practice and Riley Ferguson took the work with the second team. Each quarterback only got one drive. Worley and the rest of the first team picked up a first down in three plays and ‘won’ their portion against the defense. Riley and the second team had to pick up two first downs before being declared the winners of their round. Ferguson hit freshman tight end Daniel Helm over the middle for a 18 yard pickup on second down and 2, and then Jonathan Johnson took an end around 20 yards down the left sideline before coach Jones ended the period with the offense winning both sets.



Wide Receivers Garner Extra Attention: The most talented group on the offense all spring has been the wide receivers. After a tough scrimmage for the unit on Saturday, coach Zach Azzanni and Butch Jones spent more time on the finer details during the positional work session of practice. Azzanni spent a lot of extra time with newcomer Josh Malone as he tries to bring the freshman up to speed as quickly as possible. You can tell by watching Malone that all the talent is there for him to be one of the best receivers in this league as soon as he can put it all together. Azzanni has been very tough on his group all spring, but on Tuesday he spent more time teaching and complimenting his guys as they prepare for the Orange and White Game on Saturday.



Quote of the Day: During recever drills, Jason Croom caught a pass and put a head fake and a juke on a manager standing in on the drill as a landmark. Jones noticed the move and made sure to let Croom know that he wasn’t a juking type of receiver,

“Just run. Just catch it and run.” Butch said to Croom with a smirk on his face, “You haven’t made anyone miss in your entire career. Just catch the ball and get north and south.”

Croom then responded, telling coach Jones to check his highlight tape. Jones laughed and told the sophomore that he had already seen his highlight tape and that his running should always be north and south.
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Tuesday's Practice Notes 4/8 - Tennessee Sports Radio - Tennessee Sports Radio
 
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#7,114
#7,114
- The media got to see some live (contact is allowed) sessions today. These two sessions consisted of kick-off return as well as a team period.

- Senior running back/wide receiver Devrin Young made some good runs returning kick-offs. On his two attempts he brought the ball from deep in the end zone to about the 30 yard line.

- During the team period, senior Justin Worley was the first quarterback to take the field. This period was mainly focused on designed runs to the wide receivers.

- Redshirt freshman Riley Ferguson was at the helm with the second group to come out. He made an impressive throw across the middle to freshman tight end Daniel Helm who had three defenders around him.

- Johnathon Johnson continues to fly under the radar as he made an impressive run on a sweep play to the left. He made multiple defenders miss and got the most yardage of all the receivers that ran the play.

- During the team period, one thing was very noticeable. A.J. Johnson was involved with every tackle during the session. He continues to be impressive working sideline to sideline and tracking down the ball carrier.

- On the injury front, Devaun Swafford, Jason Croom, Austin Sanders, and Max Arnold were all in green “non-contact” jerseys.

- Jason Carr continues to have a large “club” wrap on his right hand.

- The tone of this practice seemed a bit lighter as the coaches seemed to tone down their manner of relaying information to the players.
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Spring Report: Practice 12 - TN Sports Radio - Tennessee Sports Radio
 
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#7,115
#7,115
*Former head coach Phillip Fulmer was in attendance for practice Tuesday afternoon. He’s been around the program fairly frequently since Butch Jones took the reins of the team.

*The Vols opened the practice with the three-man weave drill, you can see video below. A staple of fall camp, today was the first time I’ve seen them break it out this spring.

*Butch Jones intently watched punter Matt Darr during several drills. Darr had an extremely rough season last year. He’s always had a big leg, but struggled to consistently strike the football for much of 2013. He has shown improvement this spring and has been noticeably more consistent. Darr is the clear leader to win the punting job.

*Dimarya Mixon has been working with the second team at defensive tackle and has been one of the more physical linemen this spring. He’s knocking the rust off after a year away from football but is starting to show some playmaking ability. He had a big scrimmage Saturday and followed that up with another solid performance today. He made a tackle on a live 11-on-11 kick off drill and excelled at a few 1-on-1 drills. Don’t sleep on his ability. He’s tenacious at times and that’s hard to teach.

*Devrin Young worked as the starting kick returner and put together a couple lengthy returns. He’s the most sure-handed player the Vols have to field kicks and punts and, at least momentarily, is the leader for those two jobs. He continues to work a ton at running back and has been one of the most dynamic playmakers on the field.

*Tennessee’s nickel defense, which you will probably see them run more than their base 4-3 look, featured Maggitt at one end and Corey Vereen on the other. That’s a disruptive combination than most teams will struggle with. Jordan Williams and Owen Williams worked at tackle in nickel sets. Justin Coleman continues to solidify himself at nickel corner with Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley at the other corner positions. The Vol secondary has been better this spring than it was at any point last year.

*Justin Worley got the only rep with the first team during the live 11-on-11 portion of practice open to the media. Riley Ferguson worked with the second team and easily drove the ball down the field on Tennessee’s reserves. He completed a pass for a first down to Daniel Helm on his lone drive. The Vols tight ends, no matter who starts, look to be much improved this season.

*Jason Croom was in a green jersey today but appeared to take part in nearly all of Tennessee’s contact drills.
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Vol Spring Practice: Vols prepare for the Orange and White game | FootballTime.comFootballTime.com
 
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#7,116
#7,116
Montrell Hardy, has Cincinnatti Winthrow had any good teams lately or kids go D1.
My highschool beat them back in the day when they were a 1 seed and we were 8 in the region. Traveled to their and got hammered, everybody thought we were going to get killed.
I don't know much about them, but they definitely were pretty good that year.
 
#7,117
#7,117
As for the current Vols, Tuesday's practice was the first of three this week leading up to Saturday's Orange and White Game. Here are some notes and observations from Tuesday:

• Jones laid down the motto for the day as Tennessee went into its stretching period. "We have to maximize everyone on this field!" the coach bellowed. In sync with his other themes of the day, Jones called today's practice "Maximize Tuesday."

• The open viewing included a rare team period, in which there were about four jet sweeps in maybe 10 or so plays. Clearly the goal was to test Tennessee's sideline-to-sideline speed, and the first-team defense did much better in that regard, keeping receivers Marquez North, Von Pearson and Josh Malone contained pretty well. Johnathon Johnson and Devrin Young got loose for nice gains against the second-reamers.

• Justin Worley was the quarterback with the first-team, but his only pass was a screen to Marlin Lane, and the senior threw it at the tailback's feet.

• Riley Ferguson got the second-team reps and threw a sharp pass into a bit of a tight window to freshman tight end Daniel Helm on a crossing pattern. Helm caught the pass with a defender right behind him and took a solid shot from JaRon Toney shortly after catching it. Good throw and catch.

• Jordan Williams continues to get more looks inside at defensive tackle. Curt Maggitt is working almost exclusively at defensive end -- though he stood up as an end on one play during the team period -- and Corey Vereen is manning the other spot. The Vols like what Williams can do, and he will be on the field in pass-rushing situations for sure.

• Freshman Jakob Johnson continues to work at defensive end as well, as he began to do last week. The linebackers with the second-team defense were Kenny Bynum, freshman Neiko Creamer and walk-on Colton Jumper, a former Baylor School standout. Reminder: Tennessee has a few linebackers it likes arriving this summer.

• Jumper also was with the first-team kick return group. Young was the returner, with Toney the other deep man. The rest of that unit, if you're interested: Helm, fellow freshman tight end Ethan Wolf, Bynum, defensive end LaTroy Lewis, linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin, tailback Alden Hill and safeties LaDarrell McNeil and Lemond Johnson.
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Tennessee football practice report: Phillip Fulmer visits practice | Times Free Press
 
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#7,119
#7,119
https://tennessee.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1629455

It was a fundamental, technique, correction day for the Vols in what was called maximize Tuesday as they opened the final week of spring practice with the first of four workouts this week, which includes Saturday's Orange and White game.

For the receivers, it was a bounce back day after suffering a bout with the drops on Saturday. Head coach Butch Jones routinely challenged that group to not let the ball hit the ground. He also challenged their attention to detail in route running, noting that anyone can run a take off or a go pattern.

It was another day of special teams work with the Vols going through a live rep of kickoff return. Devrin Young handled that duty while walk-on Derrick Brodus handled the kicking. Brodus' first kick was a poor kick resulting in a do-over and the only time Jones tells his players to walk.

After the poor kick Jones quickly hit the microphone telling the coverage team to walk back for the re-kick and not to run noting that it's important they walk and not jog so that they can catch their breath and be at an optimum level for the re-kick.

In addition to the live kick, the team also worked individual special teams drills on blocking included in that drill work were almost all the newcomers like running back Jalen Hurd. Hurd by the way was not sporting the elbow brace on Tuesday.

Jones also put his team through a team 11-on-11 period which was clearly designed to stretch the defense and get them to swarm the ball and to get the next call as the offense tried to go really fast and most of the plays were sweeps or wide running plays. Marquez North, Josh Malone and Von Pearson all got opportunities with the jet sweeps with the first team. Jonathan Johnson had the most productive carry going about 15 yards on the second unit. Freshman Daniel Helm did have a nice 15-yard catch from quarterback Riley Ferguson over the middle taking a solid collision which prompted praise for Helm from the head coach. The two new tight ends continue to be very productive this spring.

On the offensive injury front, Jason Croom (shoulder) practiced but was in a green jersey. Offensive lineman Austin Sanders was back out on the practice field but in a green jersey as well. Sanders has been dealing with an upper extremity injury.

For the defensive front it was largely again about being explosive and getting off blocks. Memphis native Jason Carr continues to work as a defensive lineman even though Jones hinted last week that a position change to offense could be coming. At the linebacker spots, A.J. Johnson again set the tone running sideline to sideline in the 11-on-11 work and clearly the first defensive unit swarmed better to the ball than the second.

Also, freshman Jakob Johnson continues to work at defensive end. Johnson had a sack in Saturday's work from that position.

On the injury front defensively, Devaun Swafford and Max Arnold were both in green non-contact jersey's.

Tennessee's assistant coaches will meet the media for the final time this spring after Tuesday's practice. We will have full coverage from them tonight and tomorrow. The Vols will practice again on Thursday and Friday before Saturday's spring game which is expected to be a true game format in the first half and likely more of a situational setting with the 1's going against the 1's instead of the teams being split up and drafted.
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#7,125
#7,125
Couple of things post practice...

Quick HiTs is on the front page.

But in talking to the defensive coaches today. One of the focal points for this last week is tightening up communication both with calls from the sidelines and then calls and adjustment by the defensive unit on the field. It's an area that John Jancek said must improve.

Everyone acknowledged that the intensity and effort level on defense was better this past Saturday thanks to the presence of A.J. Johnson and the confidence he gives everyone.

Steve Stripling told me that he's really pleased with the growth of Mixon and his athletic ability this spring. He's been a very pleasant surprise. Jakob Johnson will stay at end the rest of the week and we will see what happens this summer. He's nearly 250 pounds right now.

Interestingly two weeks ago when the defense struggled so bad inside the 10, they didn't have their goal line package in at that point which made some things difficult and seem worse than they were. But everyone agrees this defense has a long way to go. Jancek said their gap responsibility as well as coverage on the back in Saturday was much improved, but that their blitz package wasn't very good and their lanes/angles in their blitz stuff wasn't anywhere that it needed to be.

Those are a couple of quick notes.
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-Hubbs
 
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