Vols Spring Practice #7

[Fingers]

Dylan Sampson was seen rallying the team prior to the start of practice, continuing to be one of the biggest vocal leaders for the squad.

Cooper Mays was on the practice field in full pads this morning going through drills.

Veteran linebacker Keenan Pili and sophomore Jeremiah Telander received some good praise from coach William Inge several times while we were out there.

Rickey Gibson was getting some special attention from Willie Martinez this morning as the coach was reminding him to focus on the little things.

Martinez was also getting after Jordan Matthews some to begin the day, encouraging him to increase his energy.

Nico Iamaleava made a couple of nice throws that were complete to Ethan Davis and Dont’e Thornton in the back of the endzone. He threw a good ball on a corner route to Chaz Nimrod that was just off his hands but only to where he could catch it. Nico did miss high on one throw to Webb.

Gaston Moore completed a couple of good balls to Squirrel White and tight end Miles Kitselman in the redzone period as well.

Speaking of tight ends, Kitselman was drawing some praise from Alec Abeln on the two-man blocking sled. Ethan Davis has also shown that he’s become more physical with the in-line blocking that comes with the tight end position in this offense.

Clearly, Dylan Sampson is ahead of the pack in that regard as he was running some good routes, looking comfortable. DeSean Bishop looked natural out in space and made one impressive catch on a throw that was high.

e.cain

We did not see veteran Jackson Lampley taking part in drills with the offensive line.

The rest of the limited/injured/working-on-the-side players were the usual suspects: Offensive linemen Javontez Spraggins, Andrej Karic and Masai Reddick, wide receivers Bru McCoy and Nathan Leacock, linebackers Arion Carter and Elijah Herring, running back Peyton Lewis and safety Christian Charles. Obviously running back Cameron Seldon (shoulder) and cornerback Kaleb Beasley (fibula) aren’t practicing as well.

Another player whose vocal presence caught our attention was seventh-year senior linebacker Keenan Pili. He was loud but brief in trying to get his guys to transition from their final turnover circuit station inside the Anderson Training Center to where the linebackers go through drills on the outside fields. Pili certainly is being pushed to be more vocal – he’s already a lead-by-example type – by new position coach William Inge.

Sampson, DeSean Bishop and Khalifa Keith all made confident, away-from-the-body catches on their first reps.

New position coach De’Rail Sims really liked Sampson’s route on his second rep and praised him for it. Bishop then made a nice adjustment to catch a pass thrown behind him on an out route. Big Keith, at 6-foot-1 and 233 pounds, showed some nimble athleticism to catch a pass and get his feet inbounds on an out route.

Leading the three receivers lines were Dont’e Thornton Jr., Squirrel White and Kaleb Webb. Redshirt freshman Ethan Davis was the pick of the tight ends as he looked imposing and natural running routes and catching passes, his hands showing up on a couple of snags as the tight ends worked crossing routes, slant patterns and corner routes to the back pylon. Behind Davis, Miles Kitselman went ahead of Holden Staes as the two transfers continue to settle in.

Transfer receiver Chris Brazzell II had the best catch of the period, twisting his body to snag a dart thrown slightly behind him and completing the reception after his legs clipped the pad-holding manager there to simulate incoming contact. The 6-foot-5, 195-pound newcomer is coming off a good scrimmage performance and will look to build on it this week. Brazzell is almost always a standout in these practice viewings.

White had a crisp route on a corner in the back of the end zone and tapped his toes inbounds on one catch, but Webb and Nico Iamaleava didn’t have their connection going. Iamaleava sailed one high on a slant on one rep. As we were leaving, the Vols worked some red-zone scramble drill and Webb couldn’t make a catch at full extension after slipping on the wet turf as he tried to adjust his route and get open for his quarterback.

This is obviously going to be a big opportunity for Umarov as he’s going to get more first-team work the rest of the spring. It may not wind up in a starting spot, but it’ll certainly be valuable experience for his development and could end with him among Tennessee’s top options off the bench. The Vols are missing some of their top guards and he stands to benefit depending on how he goes about the rest of the spring.

Inge was big on body position and he used a unique delivery to teach it to freshman Edwin Spillman.

Signee Carson Gentle was in attendance watching defensive line drills ahead of his arrival on campus in a couple of months.

p.brown

Tennessee has a pretty strong group of visitors on campus for its practice this morning, led by five-star Class of 2025 WR Caleb Cunningham of Ackerman, Miss. Top247 WR Phillip Bell of Mission Viejo, Calif., is also visiting the Vols today, along with Top247 CB Shamari Earls of Chester, Va., and four-star OL Dontrell Glover, a former Alabama commitment from Fairburn, Ga.

The Class of 2026 prospects in attendance include four-star Class of 2026 CB Samari Matthews, a top-100 prospect from Cornelius, N.C., and Class of 2026 OL/DL Noah Clark of Durham, N.C

r.callahan

 

[barrylee]

First

 

[jbcollins]

thanks bud

 

[PEPPERJAX]

PHANGERS!!!!

 

[TAF]

Arion Carter WITHOUT pads on...is a FULL GROWN DAMN MAN!

 

[WillisWG]

Arion Carter WITHOUT pads on...is a FULL GROWN DAMN MAN!

View attachment 631323

heard Paul Bain called him Mister Carter.

 

[WillisWG]

Sampson, Bishop, Keith...interesting. Sampson is of course one but not sure we can take anything away from that order, yet.

 

[aaronvol]

Arion Carter WITHOUT pads on...is a FULL GROWN DAMN MAN!

View attachment 631323

Yep. And I would love it if all our linemen would bring back the middle bar on the face mask, and linebackers the top loop on the face mask

 

[butchna]

It’s way too early to call out those who declared that “Bishop will never have a meaningful carry at UT.”…but you’re on notice. Also I made an early prediction that Kitselman would be utilized more than a depth piece…especially in the running game and when a fullback/H-back versatility would be needed.

 

[LittleVol]

Sampson, Bishop, Keith...interesting. Sampson is of course one but not sure we can take anything away from that order, yet.

Seldon really needs to get healthy.

Keith is a guy that will get better and better with every rep. He'll continue to shape his body, his skill set. He'll get faster and get used to be being the #2 guy..

Seldon really needed to be healthy this spring.
We need all 3 of the guys of course.
But and add Peyton to the room come summer and we'll have options for sure.

 

[WillisWG]

Seldon really needs to get healthy.

Keith is a guy that will get better and better with every rep. He'll continue to shape his body, his skill set. He'll get faster and get used to be being the #2 guy..

Seldon really needed to be healthy this spring.
We need all 3 of the guys of course.
But and add Peyton to the room come summer and we'll have options for sure.

The few moments of clip on Bishop he looks bigger than I thought he would be, so does Keith.

Feel badly for Seldon. Never heard what type of shoulder injury he or Lewis had, just that they had surgery. Possible Lewis could get back since his surgery was in January but Seldon isn't likely back for fall practice.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

What exactly is Arion Carters injury? Same one from the middle of the season?

 

[LittleVol]

The few moments of clip on Bishop he looks bigger than I thought he would be, so does Keith.

Feel badly for Seldon. Never heard what type of shoulder injury he or Lewis had, just that they had surgery. Possible Lewis could get back since his surgery was in January but Seldon isn't likely back for fall practice.

I keep forgetting to mention Bishop, but he's also a young workhorse, that runs downhill with good lean.

Seldon has been injured for one thing or another since his junior year in high school.

Lewis had a heavy load his senior year all the way to the state championship. Plus he ran track all summer. Lewis, Seldon, Keith at 235, and Sampson all were track guys.

 

[WillisWG]

What exactly is Arion Carters injury? Same one from the middle of the season?

Yep, shoulder. But never heard what type of shoulder injury

 

[WoodsmanVol]

When Carter makes a good play, should we boo?
Would mess with opponent fans minds big time.

BTW, what happened to practice #6?

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Yep, shoulder. But never heard what type of shoulder injury

Dang. He hurt it in October I think right? 5 months and still not full contact, dang. I'm sure they're just being very cautious at this point.

 

[WillisWG]

Dang. He hurt it in October I think right? 5 months and still not full contact, dang. I'm sure they're just being very cautious at this point.

Late October during Kentucky game. Shoulders can be tricky.

Researchers from the American Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI) in Birmingham, Alabama reviewed the charts of 60 NFL players who had undergone either arthroscopic or open stabilization at their institution. They looked at the rate of return to play, the length of time between surgery and return to an NFL game, and factors that might have impacted successful return.

Of the 60 NFL players who underwent shoulder stabilization at ASMI, 49 of them had arthroscopic labral repair, while 11 needed an open repair and capsular shift procedure.

Time missed after shoulder surgery

90% of the players (54 of the 60) successfully returned to play in a regular season NFL game after shoulder stabilization. Among the players who did return to play, the average time between surgery and the first game played was 8.6 months. None of the 60 athletes returned to play in the same season in which he underwent surgery. Most of the athletes who had surgery in the offseason returned in time to play at the start of the following season

Return to play for NFL players who undergo shoulder stabilization surgery | Dr Geier

Shoulder instability events, such as dislocations and subluxations, can be debilitating problems for competitive athletes. In contact and collision sports like football, these events often occur during the season, making the treatment decisions challenging. To return to play long-term, surgeons...

drdavidgeier.com

 

[JT3]

When Carter makes a good play, should we boo?
Would mess with opponent fans minds big time.

BTW, what happened to practice #6?

Closed Scrimmage.

 

[WoodsmanVol]

Closed Scrimmage.

Thanks.

 

[g0d0fm15ch13f]

Yep. And I would love it if all our linemen would bring back the middle bar on the face mask, and linebackers the top loop on the face mask

Does this do anything other than look nice?

 

[gobravesvols16]

It’s almost unfair the riches we have at WR right now. And we have a QB that can consistently get them the ball. Should be a fun thing to watch this fall

 

[GAVol21]

Yep, shoulder. But never heard what type of shoulder injury

Got cut when his shoulder pads burst into small pieces...

 

[BruisedOrange]

heard Paul Bain called him Mister Carter.

Humph! That sound like so much Horshack.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

The few moments of clip on Bishop he looks bigger than I thought he would be, so does Keith.

Feel badly for Seldon. Never heard what type of shoulder injury he or Lewis had, just that they had surgery. Possible Lewis could get back since his surgery was in January but Seldon isn't likely back for fall practice.

That is NOT what they said is the most probable scenario.

Meanwhile, 1. Only God knows for sure how long healing will take, 2. It's his private medical business and HIPAA prevents anyone's health details being laid out there on the internet, and 3. Why should Coach tell our first opponent which of our guys they should be preparing for? Sampson is about the only one they will have much film on; beyond that, let them guess.

 

[WillisWG]

That is NOT what they said is the most probable scenario.

Meanwhile, 1. Only God knows for sure how long healing will take, 2. It's his private medical business and HIPAA prevents anyone's health details being laid out there on the internet, and 3. Why should Coach tell our first opponent which of our guys they should be preparing for? Sampson is about the only one they will have much film on; beyond that, let them guess.

So who is THEY? Seen nothing that indicates when either would be back. If you've seen something then post it.

1. If you say so.
2. Given. No one was asking for additional disclosure.
3. We release a depth chart, so it's not much of a secret who the opponent should prepare for.