2021 Fall Practice #1

[Fingers]

Practice is upon us.

We got to watch about an hour of #Vols practice. Yes it was day one, but initial thoughts…. FAST. Not only high tempo with the offense but the way they transition between every single play… No walking anywhere on the field, coaches are constantly coaching and energy is high.

m.blevins

QB order through routes-on-air went Hooker, Milton, Bailey and Maurer. In 11 on 11 it was Hooker and Milton working with the 1s and Bailey and Maurer with the 2s. I thought Hooker was probably the most accurate and consistent across the periods we saw. Milton's arm strength is as advertised but some of his passes were too hot to handle for some of the wideouts. To start team periods, Milton had a nice run and then a dart to Jimmy Calloway over the middle. Bailey had the best deep ball of the day in 1 on 1s, hitting Jimmy Holiday over the top but on his first team period snap he held the ball too long after pulling an RPO and got sacked.

Two standouts for me from an eye-test standpoint were freshman Miles Campbell and wide receiver Andison Coby.

Quick position notes: Kaemen Marley was with the wide receivers, Roman Harrison is back at outside linebacker and William Mohan is working with the inside linebackers

On the offensive line, the first group went (left to right) Dayne Davis, Jerome Carvin, Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins and Cade Mays, and the second group went Darnell Wright, Chris Akporoghene, Parker Ball, Kingston Harris and K'Rojhn Calbert. Wright and Calbert have flipped where they worked in the spring with Wright working at left tackle and Calbert on the right side, where he's started games in the past

On the defensive line, the first group in team periods went Ja'Quain Blakely, Omari Thomas, Matthew Butler and Tyler Baron with the second group consisting of Caleb Tremblay, Kurott Garland, LaTrell Bumphus and Byron Young. Da'Jon Terry and Elijah Simmons worked with those two groups as well and Aubrey Solomon, Roman Harrison and Bryson Eason also took some reps in team periods.

freshman Julian Nixon is a big body with big hands who moves well and looks like a natural catching the football.

When the wide receivers and defensive backs worked on their releases against press coverage, Theo Jackson and Cedric Tillman were two guys consistently drawing praise from the coaching staff.

Jimmy Calloway is currently working ahead of Jalin Hyatt in the slot and made some nice plays on Wednesday morning while Hyatt had at least a couple of drops on catchable passes, though the sophomore was a tough cover for his defenders.

The pecking order at linebacker appeared to be Kwauze Garland and Solon Page III up first, followed by Jeremy Banks and Juwan Mitchell and then Aaron Beasley and Morven Joseph. Tennessee's first group in the secondary appeared to be unchanged with Warren Burrell and Taylor at cornerback, Jaylen McCollough and Trevon Flowers at safety and Theo Jackson at the nickel spot.

Freshman Kaemen Marley was listed as a defensive back when Tennessee released its updated roster last month, but he was working with the wide receivers on Wednesday morning.

Roman Harrison is back with the outside linebackers and was working with the defensive line alongside Baron, Young and Eason.

p.brown

A couple of players were no-shows and we hope to get more context with Heupel at 11:20. Those players were Princeton Fant, Trinity Bell and Kamal Hadden.

freshman Kaemen Marley was at wide receiver this morning, Roman Harrison was strictly at OLB and Morven Jospeh & William Mohan were at inside backer. Cade Mays was at right tackle.

All running backs were present with Jabari Small leading the way. Jacob Warren led the way at tight end with Fant not out there. Miles Campbell was behind him. First three WRs up were Velus, Jimmy Calloway and Cedric Tillman. Next two were Hyatt, Jimmy Holliday

And the quarterbacks: No true ‘order’ today, but it looked like it was Hendon Hooker’s day to be with the ones. Overall, it was a solid day for the QBs when media was present. Harrison Bailey looks to have improved on some mechanical issues he displayed in spring camp and the sophomore threw probably the best ball of the day in what was a deep go down the numbers.

Looked like Hendon Hooker was consistent throwing the ball for the most part. Joe Milton raised a lot of eyebrows on the day – and not just because of his physical make up. The newcomer displayed great mechanics, the quickest release and a really strong arm. If anything, he needs to develop more touch on the football compared to the fastballs thrown on slant routes or comebacks. Might have been too 'hyped' for day one, but impressive nonetheless.

e.cain

But Milton’s deep ball was nowhere to be seen. Specifically, quarterbacks only threw short and intermediate passes when practice was open to media. From that, it was clear that Milton has tremendous zip on the ball. His passes were darts, fast and accurate.

That hints at the distance of his deep passes. But it remains to be seen if he has touch. A couple of his short passes ricocheted off the hands of receivers because they arrived so quickly with no touch.

Maybe it’s more obvious because he’s 6-5, but Milton held the football very low in the pocket before he loaded it to pass. While waiting for a receiver to come open, the football was held near his waist.

Perhaps it’s a minor glitch in his mechanics, but it could become relevant because of the serious thumb injury to Milton's throwing hand that he suffered last season at Michigan.

a.sparks

I thought Walker Merrill looked pretty decent, coming back from his knee injury. As Tennessee could use him this season, Miles Campbell looked good across the middle, especially getting off the line.

Dayne Davis, Jerome Carvin, Cooper Mays, Javontez Spraggins, and Cade Mays were the 1st group for the offensive line. The 2nd group featured Darnell Wright, Chris Akporoghene, Parker Ball, and K’Rojhn Calbert; these went left to right. In addition, there were times where JUCO transfer Jeremiah Crawford worked at left tackle.

I really like their group at WR, with Velus Jones Jr. and Jalin Hyatt leading the way on the outside. JaVonta Payton has the explosiveness needed at the position, which Josh Heupel praised during his press conference. Walker Merrill was a full participant at practice, wearing a long knee brace, though Josh Heupel did say he was at 100%.

Kansas transfer Da’Jon Terry absolutely looks the part. The defensive tackle is all of the 6-foot-4, 325 pounds build listed on the roster. He moves his feet very well for someone that size, much better than Aubrey Solomon, who is 6-foot-5, 325.

Juwan Mitchell looks like he’ll be a welcome addition between the tackles. How well he plays the run sideline-to-sideline, and the pass will be worth watching. Freshman Aaron Willis is a small dude but has a quickness that I don’t think Tennessee has at linebacker. Morven Joseph has slimmed down a bit since last season and worked exclusively with inside linebackers in the viewing portion of Wednesday’s practice.

Auburn transfer Kamal Hadden was working to the side for all of the viewing portion Wednesday. Doneiko Slaughter was working with corners after playing some nickel and safety last fall as a freshman.

The LB order was Kwauze Garland and Solon Page III running with the first group, while Jeremy Banks and Juwan Mitchell ran with the 2’s. Morven Joseph and Aaron Beasley were also in the rotations.

The secondary was Warren Burrell and Alontae Taylor at corner, with Trevon Flowers and Jaylen McCollough at the safety spot. Theo Jackson played at the nickel position, with Doneiko Slaughter backing him up. We did see Christian Charles working a little at both corner and safety.

t.wallace

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

1st

 

[voltn21]

1st

If you ain’t first, you last... guess I’m last...

 

[Frankie53182]

1st... page

 

[volunteerlane]

It's Football Time in Tennessee!!!!

 

[ETCvol4life]

Time to get this party started !!!!!!!

 

[Volprofch05]

My first time!

 

[Creeker]

Finally!

 

[FBtime]

 

[HoleInTheRoof]

Feels good man

 

[RDU VOL#14]

 

[savannahfan]

It's Football Time in Tennessee!!!!

ALMOST MOST!!!

 

[Gandalf]

Fingers DELIVERS!

 

[onevol74]

Are those black stripes on those helmets?

 

[WarMachine]

BOOM! Thanks Fingers!

 

[Orange Studs]

WOOP WOOOP !

 

[Jackcrevol]

Practice is upon us.

is that Juvenille playing in background? ill hang up and listen..

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Fingers DELIVERS!

obligatory TWSS

 

[Orange Studs]

 

[volfaninky]

Orange Britches!!!

 

[BigHodgie]

Are those black stripes on those helmets?

I also have PTSD

 

[TJVol95]

Thank God no Cornbread!!

 

[FBtime]

I've seen enough...Milton is the starter!

Practice is upon us.

 

[WarMachine]

 

[bigorange]