Overall, the defense had a bounce-back performance Saturday. According to folks there, the first-team offense had its moments — a Josh Palmer 30-yard touchdown from Jarrett Guarantano and a Ty Chandler long catch and run for a score — but was sloppy (penalties and turnovers) and didn’t generate a ton of explosive plays. The defense tackled much better Saturday compared to a week ago, per folks. One person said they were much more “violent at contact” today.
Freshman cornerback Warren Burrell continues to make plays, as the North Gwinnett product was involved in a pair of takeaways — picking off Guarantano and also recovering a fumble for a score.
On the lines of scrimmage, Emmit Gooden, John Mincey and Matthew Butler all saw work early inthe scrimmage, but the Vols rotated up front a lot.
Offensively, unlike a week ago, Jahmir Johnson got the bulk of work with the 1s at left tackle. Wanya Morris did see some time with the first-unit, too. The rest of the main group included Riley Locklear at left guard, Jerome Carvin at center, K’Rojhn Calbert at right guard and Nathan Niehaus. Ryan Johnson got work with the 1s at right guard, too. Marcus Tatum, who had a tough scrimmage a week ago, saw most of his work with 2s and 3s before getting some work with the first-team toward the end of the scrimmage. The run blocking — from the OL to the tight ends — wasn’t as physical as a week ago.
Several veterans were non-contact today, including Marquez Callaway, who was dinged up in last week’s scrimmage, linebacker Will Ignont, safety Theo Jackson and Guarantano, who again was not live. Tailback Carlin Fils-Aime sat out due to an undisclosed injury.
