Them Vols offseason thread

Owen Williams is a guy who's impressed earlier. And a team full of some notable work-ethic guys seems to have another one in Williams. Recognizing his conditioning is an issue, Williams has proceeded directly from the practice field to the weight room and then upstairs in the Anderson Training Center, where still in uniform from the practice field, Williams has immediately logged interval training work on the treadmill.
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I really like that quote on Williams from VQ. I'm usually not a big fan of narrative that can surround a team because it doesn't change the fact that we are still going to struggle mightily as a team. BUT the culture change in regard to the attitude of the coaches, and the type of players they are bringing in really does seem to be noticeable.
 
Gone from having guys who completely skipped workouts under Dooley (shutters) to a team full of workout warriors. I have the feels.
 
Hurd killin' it in the scrimmage.

Worley threw a pick in the end zone and Dobbs gave up a fumble for a TD (Vereen got the sack, fumble, and TD, I think)
 
CBJ on Stokes playing football if he comes back:


“Obviously, he has a lot of work to do. It’d be great to have him come out and play football,” Jones told IT. “But obviously we would take that one step at a time. Right now, though, I want all his focus on basketball. That’s something, you know, you’re always looking to get better as a football program.”

Jones, who says he follows the Vols’ basketball team very closely, said he sees aspects of Stokes’ game on the hardwood that may transfer nicely to the gridiron.

“I love everything about what he brings as far as basketball goes and I see, you know, there are some things that transcend onto the football field as well,” Jones said.

Jones said he has seen athletes switch sports successfully in the past, but adds that the player must have two key characteristics to make it work.

“If they’re very athletic and if they’re tough mentally and physically… it can happen,” Jones said. “…(Stokes) is tough.”
 
Early enrollee Neiko Creamer arrived in Knoxville unaware what position he would play — wide receiver or tight end seemed to be the most likely possibilities.

But to kickoff spring camp, Jones announced the 6-foot-3, 225-pounder would begin his career at linebacker. Jones explained to IT what went into that decision.

“Neiko is a very, very good athlete. He’s a big-bodied young man that can run. You know, we’re limited at linebacker right now and based on our evaluations and our offensive weight-lifting developments. We’re kind of experimenting right now if he can play linebacker. We knew when we recruited him we liked him so much because he was a multi-positional player.”

Reeves-Maybin made the switch to linebacker in the middle of the season last fall and based on his description of the position’s meeting room, feeling at home won’t be a problem for Creamer.

Reeves-Maybin said he felt “at home” and welcome at linebacker right away.

“A lot of people don’t know but Curt (Maggitt) and A.J. (Johnson), they gonna hold you to a higher standard than everyone. Like, once you come into that meeting room, you’re in there for good,” he said.

Reeves-Maybin called the transition process “difficult,” but says he feels “more than ready” to become a “key contributor” at linebacker.

Coaches continually told IT last season that adding weight and playing with better leverage as an undersized linebacker were Reeves-Maybin’s biggest challenges. He would disagree, saying learning the X’s and O’s of the new position most likely kept him off the field.

“From last year, to this year, just knowing the defense better is a huge help,” Reeves-Maybin told IT. “I can play so much faster now and am able to think less. I think that was my biggest challenge.”

Jancek told IT that Reeves-Maybin’s biggest area for improvement is his tackling.

Early enrollee Jakob Johnson, who is still relatively new to football, is going through the challenge of learning a college playbook right now. While the former Germany-native still has his struggles, Reeves-Maybin said he’s picking schemes up faster than he could have imagined.

“It’s crazy, it’s coming pretty easy to him,” Reeves-Maybin told IT. “He’s pressing. It’s coming a lot easier to him than I thought it would. I thought it would be all foreign. He’s just got to keep learning, keep learning.”

A two-star when he committed to Tennessee and a three-star when he signed, JUCO defensive tackle Owen Williams is performing more like a five-star in his first few workouts as a Volunteer.

Asked if any of his troops has been a pleasant surprise to date, defensive line coach Steve Stripling replied: “The returning guys have surprised me because they’ve really improved in the short time we’ve been off the football field. But if I had to pick one guy, it would be Owen Williams. I think he can be a fantastic player. He’s just got to keep learning how to play.”

The first step in getting a guy to assert himself in games is to make him assert himself in practice. With that in mind Butch Jones told redshirt freshman Jason Carr he wants him to be the first player in line for every D-line drill this spring. Stripling agrees totally with the move.

“Sure. We’re challenging Jason Carr from Day 1,” Stripling said. “He’s the biggest, prettiest guy walking off the bus, right? We’ve got to challenge him daily to develop his toughness, to develop his leverage, to develop all of those things. That’s Coach Jones’ way of challenging him.”

Wide receiver Von Pearson brings more than just junior college experience to the Vols. He brings real-world experience. Between graduating from high school in 2010 and enrolling at Feather River Community College in 2011, he worked the kind of menial jobs guys attend college in hopes of avoiding … like serving fried chicken at a Bojangles.

“Von brings a unique perspective and has been a good resource for the other 14 newcomers that are here this winter for the first time,” offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said. “He’s seen the other side … seen what it’s like to work at McDonald’s, what it’s like to do the same thing day-in and day-out at a 9-to-5 job. He comes every day to work with some energy and some passion. Frankly, it’s pretty infectious, and I love being around him. He’s a guy the other newcomers have kind of rallied around to kind of get the lay of the land (for life after college). It’s not so much that he’s a junior-college player but just his life experiences.”

After underachieving for three years, senior running back Marlin Lane may be on the verge of a breakout season. He has added more weight, more strength and more determination as his senior year approaches.

“He put on weight but he also gained strength with it,” running backs coach Robert Gillespie said. “He was just as explosive on his vertical jump and his change-of-direction drills. He actually got faster.”

Rajion Neal made the transformation from underachiever to 1,000-yard rusher as a senior running back last fall. Lane appears intent on following the same path.

“Rajion bought in and had some success,” Gillespie said. “I think he (Lane) was able to see that he wanted to be that guy. As soon as the Kentucky game was over with you could see Marlin look around, see he was the oldest guy in the room. You could see he was starting to take on that (No. 1 running back) role. I think he’s really bought in…. I think he’s prepared to step in and finally have a big season.”
 
wU-Tang Vol said:
CBJ on Stokes playing football if he comes back:


“Obviously, he has a lot of work to do. It’d be great to have him come out and play football,” Jones told IT. “But obviously we would take that one step at a time. Right now, though, I want all his focus on basketball. That’s something, you know, you’re always looking to get better as a football program.”

Jones, who says he follows the Vols’ basketball team very closely, said he sees aspects of Stokes’ game on the hardwood that may transfer nicely to the gridiron.

“I love everything about what he brings as far as basketball goes and I see, you know, there are some things that transcend onto the football field as well,” Jones said.

Jones said he has seen athletes switch sports successfully in the past, but adds that the player must have two key characteristics to make it work.

“If they’re very athletic and if they’re tough mentally and physically… it can happen,” Jones said. “…(Stokes) is tough.”
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What
 
“I was really happy for Jalen today,” Tennessee wideout Marquez North said. “He was real physical and he was dominant.”

“He still needs to learn how to get the ball north and south” Jones said.

Tennessee center Mack Crowder agrees.

“He did really good. I think he got spooked a few times today. He was hitting some holes,” Crowder told IT. “I was proud of him. He’s working very hard. I think, once again, he just needs to calm down and realize he has the ability to do.”
 
Him not being an impact player would really hurt an already questionable OL
 
I love Jarnell. He's my favorite Vol bball player ever.

But stick to basketball my man.
 
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