Vols Fall Practice #1

[Vol423]

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Trey Smith is such a badass he swooped into Knoxville to run some routes on air with our wide receivers in Day 1 of Fall practice. That’s a true VFL!

 

[Eastknox865]

Boo...daggumit dog house

You're showing your age, my dad used to say that all the time. I'm guessing late 60's early 70s

 

[GrizzlyVol]

I agree that we’re thin at WR but I don’t agree with you about the RBs. I think we have a better 1-2 punch this year than we did last year. We won’t replace Sampsons production in one guy but I think Bishop/Lewis compliment either well. Lewis is unproven but I really like what we saw out of Bishop last year. You’ll have a brute in Bishop and a speedster in Lewis.

Star Thomas along with those 2 looks pretty good

 

[Jaxon_Vol2017]

Is practice every day? Is there a schedule somewhere?

 

[Jaxon_Vol2017]

As bad as I hate to I’ll be the first to bring negative energy in here. I’ll preface it by getting this out of the way. “It’s the first practice chill, etc.”

Our WR core is thin as a banjo string. We have no proven running backs. Our QB situation we all knew would be in the air with the competition developing, but I’ve heard from a few different sources that saw practice now combined with a OL saying Merk is the standout qb so far. I know the orange and white game is vanilla and a glorified scrimmage, but how much did the guy improve in 2.5 months of offseason? He looked scary to be honest. The one time he got significant playing time against scrubs last year he was terrifying to watch as well. I am fully preparing to buckle up for what will be an emotional wreck of a ride this year. I hope I’m wrong. Man, would I love to be wrong!

So who are your sources? Are they at practice?

 

[BrianVol94]

Glad to see no pajamas and hoodies & sunglasses on the football field.

 

[LittleVol]

I’m wondering who the 4th Safety is. Turrentine, Farooq, Beasley….then who? Walton?

Walton or Merrit I assume.

We’ll see how it all shakes out.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

Star Thomas along with those 2 looks pretty good

I THINK the room will be more solid. May have fewer home runs, but drives with a few more snaps getting the tough yards, making the right cuts, and more catches out of the backfield will work too. Hoping for Morris to add some plays as the change of pace back. Need to be good enough to impact the number of defenders in the box to help our young but twitchy WR room.

Scoring in all quarters could really help. QB run threat has to help. Back to pace??? OL strengths will impact the distribution of carries and run/pass percentages.

Will follow camp production closely.

 

[NighthawkVol]

I THINK the room will be more solid. May have fewer home runs, but drives with a few more snaps getting the tough yards, making the right cuts, and more catches out of the backfield will work too. Hoping for Morris to add some plays as the change of pace back. Need to be good enough to impact the number of defenders in the box to help our young but twitchy WR room.

Scoring in all quarters could really help. QB run threat has to help. Back to pace??? OL strengths will impact the distribution of carries and run/pass percentages.

Will follow camp production closely.

There are those who insist that Daune Morris will play. He is a Swiss Army knife back there. Motion him out to the slot, catch the ball out of the backfield, run it as a scatback, etc. He’s an exciting prospect and I’ve loved his game since the first time I saw his film.

 

[WillisWG]

You're showing your age, my dad used to say that all the time. I'm guessing late 60's early 70s

Nailed it 74 last February. Picked it up from my grandfathers as did most of my cousins.

 

[WillisWG]

We really don't rotate WRs much. I have ongoing concerns the young guys don't get enough experience to produce should one of the veterans / starters goes down.

Heupel has kept the message simple for those players with "they don't have time to be young this season". Much better message than the standard "we're young at that position". Even when it's true, some coaches over use it and it become a crutch.

 

[McDad]

Heupel has kept the message simple for those players with "they don't have time to be young this season". Much better message than the standard "we're young at that position". Even when it's true, some coaches over use it and it become a crutch.

Agreed. Better messaging.

Do you think he changes his previous approach when it comes to WR rotation this year?

 

[VolKnight9]

Star Thomas along with those 2 looks pretty good

You got that right.

 

[VolKnight9]

Well, Bishop had 455 yards rushing and a 6.1 ypc. Lewis had 339 yards and a 5.3 ypc. Also, Star Thomas had 871 yards 7TDs and a 4.1 ypc as Duke's leading rusher. It's not like we are completely unproven at the position.

Yes sir. That is my point. We have good depth there

 

[WillisWG]

Agreed. Better messaging.

Do you think he changes his previous approach when it comes to WR rotation this year?

He's often said “It’s hard to keep everybody happy at that position” but this WRs room isn't as experienced. It will be interesting to see how the QB/WR competition goes and who steps up. Even with Boo being in the doghouse I believe he see O time.

 

[WillisWG]

JT "iron sharpens iron"

 

[WillisWG]

 

[WillisWG]

Is practice every day? Is there a schedule somewhere?

Practice today, Friday off, practice Saturday and Sunday; off Monday. Scrimmage Saturday morning the 9th in Neyland.

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