Vols Spring Practice No. 4 Updates 3.13

#52
#52
Question, I keep seeing concern over who will be the slot receiver this year. It seems to me we have plenty of options like Brandon Johnson or Tyler Byrd along with Murphy and Jacquez Jones. I guess Jennings is an option too. I'm not seeing why there's all the coverage over who will be in the slot.

Tyler Byrd has been a bust for the most part. He had 1 catch for 20 yards last season and has seemingly gotten worse the longer he's been here. Maybe he has a breakout season and surprises everyone, but he's been invisible the past 2 seasons.

Brandon Johnson showed a ton of promise in 2017 and ended up becoming our go-to receiver in the 2nd half of the season. Then, he took a huge step backward in 2018. He only had 14 receptions for 132 yards; which isn't bad, but he also wasn't nearly as big of a contributor as he was in '17. Not sure what the issue was last season; is he having more difficulty with the Pruitt offense than the Jones offense? I could see him maybe becoming a bigger contributor this season after a somewhat disappointing 2018. Let's hope.

Murphy is probably the most promising of the bunch. 11 catches for 155 yards last season as a backup. I could see him potentially having a breakout season.

Overall, though, I would say we're in pretty good shape at WR. Sure, maybe we have some guys with duplicative skills, and I don't know how things will shake out with the rotation, but we have enough talent so that we should be pretty good there, barring major injuries to the Big 3 (Palmer, JJ, Callaway).

Much more concerned about the O-line and D-line than WR.
 
#54
#54
Thats one of the main reasons why people saying oh look at the schedule we should easily be able to win 8 games need a reality check. We are still trying to adjust to the 3-4 and we dont have enough quality depth at any position on the DL. 2019 is going to be yet another rough year.
Glad you’ve told me how the season is going to pan out. Hell why even watch?
 
  • Like
Reactions: TennesseeTarheel
#56
#56
That pic of Crouch and Peterson is pretty telling in terms of size and attitude. I hope I’m reading too much into it.
It is a bit striking....thought JJ was a DB at first until I realized it was him. Hoping it was just the angle. QC looks like a full growed man...JJ, still trying to get in shape. Hope I’m reading too much into it too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Evergrenevol
#58
#58
Thats one of the main reasons why people saying oh look at the schedule we should easily be able to win 8 games need a reality check. We are still trying to adjust to the 3-4 and we dont have enough quality depth at any position on the DL. 2019 is going to be yet another rough year.

I agree.

Pruitt inherits a D-line situation this year that's not that dissimilar to the O-line situation Jones had to deal with in 2014. We lose our top 4 D-linemen. Very tough to replace that production immediately. We still don't know if Soloman will be eligible and Savion Williams (our JUCO signee) isn't in Spring camp, so he might not be game-ready right out the gate. Hoping that these guys being in Pruitt's system for 2 years will help, but if depth on the D-line was an issue last year, it's likely to be an even bigger problem this season.

I could see a scenario where the O-line improves faster than we expect, but the D-line continues to struggle. I do have more optimism about an "upside surprise" this year than last, but still suspect O-line and D-line will continue to be weak areas.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rocky_top08
#61
#61
Tyler Byrd has been a bust for the most part. He had 1 catch for 20 yards last season and has seemingly gotten worse the longer he's been here. Maybe he has a breakout season and surprises everyone, but he's been invisible the past 2 seasons.

Brandon Johnson showed a ton of promise in 2017 and ended up becoming our go-to receiver in the 2nd half of the season. Then, he took a huge step backward in 2018. He only had 14 receptions for 132 yards; which isn't bad, but he also wasn't nearly as big of a contributor as he was in '17. Not sure what the issue was last season; is he having more difficulty with the Pruitt offense than the Jones offense? I could see him maybe becoming a bigger contributor this season after a somewhat disappointing 2018. Let's hope.

Murphy is probably the most promising of the bunch. 11 catches for 155 yards last season as a backup. I could see him potentially having a breakout season.

Overall, though, I would say we're in pretty good shape at WR. Sure, maybe we have some guys with duplicative skills, and I don't know how things will shake out with the rotation, but we have enough talent so that we should be pretty good there, barring major injuries to the Big 3 (Palmer, JJ, Callaway).

Much more concerned about the O-line and D-line than WR.
Let Keyton compete for it since outside receiver is more locked up this year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: orangebloodgmc
#63
#63
It is a bit striking....thought JJ was a DB at first until I realized it was him. Hoping it was just the angle. QC looks like a full growed man...JJ, still trying to get in shape. Hope I’m reading too much into it too.
First game of the year is still a far ways away. I'm sure the fall was a wake up call and he worked to get in shape and then seeing created competition can be another motivator. JJ is a inch taller and listed as 13 lbs lighter than Crouch.
 
#64
#64
I agree.

Pruitt inherits a D-line situation this year that's not that dissimilar to the O-line situation Jones had to deal with in 2014. We lose our top 4 D-linemen. Very tough to replace that production immediately. We still don't know if Soloman will be eligible and Savion Williams (our JUCO signee) isn't in Spring camp, so he might not be game-ready right out the gate. Hoping that these guys being in Pruitt's system for 2 years will help, but if depth on the D-line was an issue last year, it's likely to be an even bigger problem this season.

I could see a scenario where the O-line improves faster than we expect, but the D-line continues to struggle. I do have more optimism about an "upside surprise" this year than last, but still suspect O-line and D-line will continue to be weak areas.

Our run D ranked 116 and our passing D ranked 101 last year. What is the great production on the D line that is going to be hard to replace?
 
#65
#65
Really, someone is going to miss Kingbo, and etc? Did any of that bunch have any fight in them? The Mckenzies. I’m ready for some guys to play for their coach and their team. Guys that want to fight thru a double and smear the qb and get Neyland rockin and it’s going to happen cause those are the boys that want to play for a guy like Pruitt. It’s coming and quit acting like it should just happen.
 
#66
#66
Interesting how the NCAA ruled almost immediately, within a week or 2, on Justin Fields and his transfer to Ohio State. Meanwhile I heard Austin Price say refenrkt that UT didn’t expect a response from the ncaa regarding Solomon and Gibbs until early summer. How the hell does that work?


Yeah there’s definitely politics at play with how the NCAA handles these situations. I’m sure OSU did something dirty to get the ball rolling on the fields transfer. Hopefully patience pays off for us and at least one of our two guys can become eligible for this season.
 
  • Like
Reactions: feathersax
#69
#69
A bowl game....great.

Remind me of the bowl games we had the past two seasons or how about winning seasons? That's right. Zero. Nada. Null.

You must be one of those that think if we aren't in the SEC Championship by the next year then we haven't been successful. Get real. We aren't the Tennessee from the past. Recognize progress when it's due, homie.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bret178 and VolinMC
#71
#71
#73
#73
Really, someone is going to miss Kingbo, and etc? Did any of that bunch have any fight in them? The Mckenzies. I’m ready for some guys to play for their coach and their team. Guys that want to fight thru a double and smear the qb and get Neyland rockin and it’s going to happen cause those are the boys that want to play for a guy like Pruitt. It’s coming and quit acting like it should just happen.

Roman Harrison
 
  • Like
Reactions: orangebloodgmc

VN Store



Back
Top