Fingers
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After Jahmir Johnson got the bulk of work at left tackle with the 1s in the second scrimmage of the spring Saturday, the former JUCO product was back at his main position in 2018 today, working exclusively at left guard in both individual and combo drills. The first-team OL had freshman Wanya Morris at left tackle, Johnson at left guard, Ryan Johnson at center, Riley Locklear at right guard and Marcus Tatum at right tackle.
As has been the case for the last two weeks, Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy continue to do light work on the side of the main group.
Newcomer Deangelo Gibbs looked the most natural during the drill among the DBs. Daniel Bituli held the same role with the LBs, showcasing tight fundamentals and explosiveness off the edge. Shanon Reid and Will Ignont also had solid reps. Conversely, Solon Page was chewed out for jumping offsides during his rep and Pruitt also got onto freshman Quavaris Crouch for a lazy rep, where he too jumped offsides.
-SimontonJarrett Guarantano might’ve thrown just 1-2 bad balls the whole drill, firing several pretty passes, especially on a few designed tight throws up the seam. Similarly, JT Shrout was sharp today. He airmailed one right over the middle, but he mostly was clean with his accuracy and touch. Freshman Brian Maurer took a lot of reps, but the early enrollee continues to struggle with consistency. Among the receivers, Marquez Callaway was very smooth today but I thought Jacquez Jones might’ve had the best overall performance. He plucked two high, tough throws from Maurer over the middle and also caught a ball a bit behind him from Guarantano.
Jeremy Pruitt has consistently praised the redshirt junior this spring for his improved leadership, and it was on full display Tuesday afternoon. Early Tuesday, Pruitt mentioned that Guarantano had as bad of a practice as he has had all spring on Saturday during UT’s second scrimmage. That wasn’t the case on Tuesday, at least not during the open portion of practice. Guarantano made several good throws, and I didn’t see any of his passes hit the ground.
As has been the case this spring, Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway, and Josh Palmer continue to look good. Rarely does a ball hit the ground, and rarely is it their fault when it does.
Brandon Johnson, however, did have two drops.
-N. RutherfordDefensively, John Mincey, Matthew Butler, LaTrell Bumphus, Aubrey Solomon, and Ja’Quain Blakely worked at defensive end. Emmit Gooden, Greg Emerson, Kurott Garland, and Kingston Harris all worked at defensive tackle.
Gooden, Solomon and Emerson all held up pretty well in their reps at the nose, while Bumphus impressively stood his ground pretty well when taking on a double-team block from Morris and Johnson.
Freshman Eric Gray continues to get reps in individual drills, and the former four-star prospect's athleticism jumps out even in that setting. He's got really good quickness and change-of-direction ability. He also looks like he's kept up on the mental side of things.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings looked to take some direct snaps during the period before joining the rest of the wideouts for routes-on-air work. Jennings played quarterback in high school and started his Tennessee career there before moving to receiver after his first spring with the Vols. He's been used on direct snaps in the past so it wasn't anything new to see him take some on Tuesday, but it notable.
-P. BrownJordan Murphy had a bad drop but bounced right back with a beautiful double-move route on his next rep. The slot receivers, led by Murphy and Jennings, look to have worked plenty of option routes this spring and did so again on Tuesday. Tyler Byrd also had a drop, while freshman Ramel Keyton plucked a low throw from Maurer and Cedric Tillman made a bobbled catch, showing good concentration to complete the play after slipping when coming out of his break.
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