What will you be watching for in spring practice?

#1
Freak

Freak

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#1
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We're less than a week from the start of spring practice, which is hard to believe. Personally, I welcome the football talk versus the stuff we've been forced to discuss recently.

Anyway, what are some things you'll be watching for this spring?

For me, I'm anxious to watch Bob Shoop's defense and how the players respond to him and the new system.

Who will step up to replace Randolph and McNeil at safety? Obviously Todd Kelly Jr. is a guy who I think is expected to step in this year. What about Evan Berry? I think he has the physical tools. Stephen Griffin?

What about Micah Abernathy? I recall someone predicted he'd be could surprise some at safety.

Who plays corner along with Cam Sutton? I'm really excited that we get to watch Cam play in orange for one more year. Justin Martin and Emmanuel Moseley played a good bit last year. How much can/should we expect from Marquill Osborne as a freshman?

Can DJ Henderson get on the field? As a JUCO, you have the think the expectation is for him to play.

What about Rashaan Gaulden? How long have we been talking abou this guy? Is this finally his year?

Can Jason Croom be the guy we rely on at tight end along with Ethan Wolf. It's been, what, fifteen months since his injury? Can he block?

On the offensive line, who replaces Kyler Kerbyson? Can Drew Richmond step in and solidify that LT position?

Who will emerge as the "go to guy" at receiver? Josh Malone has shown flashes, but can he consistently be the guy. What about Preston Williams? Can a guy like Jeff George step up and make an impact? Josh Smith has the experience and always seems to get overlooked this time of year.

Darrell Taylor is a guy we've heard a lot about who redshirted last year. Can he make an impact on the DL?

What about Dillon Bates? He tore his labrum his freshman year, but this will be his third year on campus now.


It's almost FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE, for a few weeks at least, so let's hear your thoughts.
 
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#3
#3
Looking for the passing game to improve.
No police reports coming out of Knoxville about UT players or coaches.
 
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#6
#6
Freak said:
Who plays corner along with Cam Sutton?
Click to expand...

I wouldn't expect to see Cam participate very much in spring practice. If I were CBJ, I would split all the CB time between the others as I know what I've got in Cam. Just keep him healthy into the fall!
 
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#7
#7
Looking to see what redshirt Freshmen get some opportunities this Spring to compete. Especially on defense, if it is true that Shoop likes to play more players and keep everyone fresh.
 
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#8
#8
I would like to see a big improvement in offensive line in pass protection and run game. I would like to see Malone be consistent, Preston Williams show why he was a highly recruited WR and see one or two freshmen WRs step up. It would also be nice if Dobbs could improve his accuracy.
 
#9
#9
I will be interested to see what King Kongbo can do. Will he be the player everyone thinks he will be?

I await the passing game reports. We have to have some deep passes this year that have a chance of connecting or everyone will just crowd the line of scrimmage like last year.
 
#10
#10
VolBricks said:
I will be interested to see what King Kongbo can do. Will he be the player everyone thinks he will be?

I await the passing game reports. We have to have some deep passes this year that have a chance of connecting or everyone will just crowd the line of scrimmage like last year.
Click to expand...

I don't think he will be here until the summer...so you will have to wait awhile.
 
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#11
#11
titansvolsfaninga said:
I don't think he will be here until the summer...so you will have to wait awhile.
Click to expand...

Right. I think the only newcomers from the '16 class are:

DJ Henderson
Jeff George
Alexis Johnson
Marquill Osborne

I miss anyone?
 
#12
#12
I think you pose some good questions as to who will start in the secondary.

Seems to be loaded with talent in the backend and my guess the ony two fulltime starters are Sutton and Kelly Jr.

Shoop has a lot of talent to mess around with and there should be no reason to see guys winded and playing too many snaps with the exception of DT. That seems to be the biggest question mark because of depth or lack there of.
 
#14
#14
Bob Shoop's defense, first, and Dobbs's passing. I think we are a 9-win regular season team if he only improves a little bit, but we could be an easy 10-11 win team with good, accurate passing. With that, we would also see ( at least I hope) tremendous improvement from the wide receiving corps.
 
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#15
#15
Josh Dobbs - accuracy
Kongbo - is he the real deal? (I really think he is)
Paul Bain - just curious
McKenzie - weight, conditioning, and improvement from that
Gaulden - can he compliment Sutton
Kamara - he's just fun to watch, would like to see him "turn and burn"
Hurd - can he go into "beast" mode? (likely won't know until fall)
Preston Williams - except to see him become elite
Drew Richmond - Is he ready? and if so, will he make into the potential starters rotation?
 
#16
#16
MustafaRasta said:
I think you pose some good questions as to who will start in the secondary.

Seems to be loaded with talent in the backend and my guess the ony two fulltime starters are Sutton and Kelly Jr.

Shoop has a lot of talent to mess around with and there should be no reason to see guys winded and playing too many snaps with the exception of DT. That seems to be the biggest question mark because of depth or lack there of.
Click to expand...

DT depth should improve when Tuttle gets back full speed come fall, but I agree, we still need another one. Losing out on Derrick Brown this year in recruiting hurt a little bit, but I think we can survive with what we've currently got.
 
#17
#17
I'm actually not worried about the defense, I'd like to see a lot more consistency in the passing game overall.
 
#18
#18
supersmo18 said:
DT depth should improve when Tuttle gets back full speed come fall, but I agree, we still need another one. Losing out on Derrick Brown this year in recruiting hurt a little bit, but I think we can survive with what we've currently got.
Click to expand...

If Tuttle comes back healthy and 100% by summer practice I will feel more comfortable. He's a complete beast.
 
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#22
#22
Freak said:
Right. I think the only newcomers from the '16 class are:

DJ Henderson
Jeff George
Alexis Johnson
Marquill Osborne

I miss anyone?
Click to expand...

Being a JUCO transfer I assumed he would be here in the spring.
 
#23
#23
Freak said:
Cb8RAi6W4AIgX_C.jpg


We're less than a week from the start of spring practice, which is hard to believe. Personally, I welcome the football talk versus the stuff we've been forced to discuss recently.

Anyway, what are some things you'll be watching for this spring?

For me, I'm anxious to watch Bob Shoop's defense and how the players respond to him and the new system.

Who will step up to replace Randolph and McNeil at safety? Obviously Todd Kelly Jr. is a guy who I think is expected to step in this year. What about Evan Berry? I think he has the physical tools. Stephen Griffin?

What about Micah Abernathy? I recall someone predicted he'd be could surprise some at safety.

Who plays corner along with Cam Sutton? I'm really excited that we get to watch Cam play in orange for one more year. Justin Martin and Emmanuel Moseley played a good bit last year. How much can/should we expect from Marquill Osborne as a freshman?

Can DJ Henderson get on the field? As a JUCO, you have the think the expectation is for him to play.

What about Rashaan Gaulden? How long have we been talking abou this guy? Is this finally his year?

Can Jason Croom be the guy we rely on at tight end along with Ethan Wolf. It's been, what, fifteen months since his injury? Can he block?

On the offensive line, who replaces Kyler Kerbyson? Can Drew Richmond step in and solidify that LT position?

Who will emerge as the "go to guy" at receiver? Josh Malone has shown flashes, but can he consistently be the guy. What about Preston Williams? Can a guy like Jeff George step up and make an impact? Josh Smith has the experience and always seems to get overlooked this time of year.

Darrell Taylor is a guy we've heard a lot about who redshirted last year. Can he make an impact on the DL?

What about Dillon Bates? He tore his labrum his freshman year, but this will be his third year on campus now.


It's almost FOOTBALL TIME IN TENNESSEE, for a few weeks at least, so let's hear your thoughts.
Click to expand...

Gosh Freak you captured all mine ... and then some! Great job as usual.
 
#24
#24
I think if the move to TE for Jason Croom could be a big for him and UT, its obvious that TE is a difficult position hard to find multiple special players.
 
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#25
#25
I'm looking for just how the team reacts after all of this conflict during the offseason, teamwork wise. I'm also looking for how John Kelly does considering he will probably be the starter in 17. Also is Joe young out? How the offensive line has improved over the offseason. Has medley improved in consistency any? Is Jeff George going to be someone to keep an eye on this season? How the backup linebackers look just in case one of the starters go down during the season? Has dobbs improved in accuracy? Just some questions I would like to see answered during the spring.
 
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