Fall Practice Updates:

The 2014 football season is underway as Team 118 hit the practice field just after 7 Friday night on Haslam Field.*

Tennessee head coach Butch Jones made it clear on Thursday that he was looking for tempo and retention on day one.

From an observer standpoint, it's hard to think the head coach wasn't pleased as the Vols moved quickly from station to station including jumping into special teams with extra points and punts. Matt Darr boomed some early punts, but he also heard from coaches regarding his get-off time, which was just barely above 2.0 seconds a couple of instances.

One interesting note is that with Michael Palardy gone, Tennessee split up special teams with one side of the practice field working on punts and the other on field goals as the roles are expected to be split up this season.

But this day was about seeing a bigger, faster and stronger Volunteers' football team. The Vols definitely looked the part in that regard. Not merely the newcomers, either. For the first time in at least two years, Curt Maggitt roamed the practice field without a brace on either knee. Corey Vereen also looked more physical, but he did wear a knee brace on his right knee.

Some members of the Tennessee defense as it took to the field:

DE: Corey Vereen
DT: Jordan Williams
DT: Danny O'Brien
DE: Curt Maggitt
LB: AJ Johnson
LB: Jalen Reeves-Maybin
NB: Justin Coleman
CB: Emmanuel Moseley
CB: Cam Sutton
S: Brian Randolph
S: Devaun Swafford

Allan Carson was the only player in the 'Black Hole' doing only conditioning and not a full participant in practice.*

Among second-team notables were defensive end Dewayne Hendrix, who certainly grabbed the attention of his coaches, and linebacker Dillon Bates.*

Offensively, Justin Worley and Joshua Dobbs were clearly at the forefront of the Vols' quarterback derby with Worley earning the stripes early.

Marlin Lane was the early tailback while receivers were Marquez North, Von Pearson and Josh Malone. The offensive line, early, was from left to right: Jacob Gilliam, Marcus Jackson, Mack Crowder, Kyler Kerbyson and Coleman Thomas. Brendan Downs, Ethan Wolf and Daniel Helm all got early work at tight end.*

On a visitor note, Hunter Dale was in town from New Orleans to check out the Vols.
 
Anybody got a prescription for "feeling feels?"
 
Andrew Darago ‏@AndrewTSR 3m
Write it down: Von Pearson is the best receiver on the team. And he knows it. Very confident

Peanuts, gentlemen
 
Buddy:

Looks like RTI has the depth charts covered, which is all you could really tell from tonight, so I won't waste time typing out what I saw. I will say I don't think Branisel was working with the 1s at TE, which is what they have. Looked like Helm/Wolf switching off to me. I would not be surprised to see Branisel redshirt. The brace he had on tonight was gigantic and really seemed to limit him.

They will be in shells Sunday I believe and then pads on Tuesday, which should be more interesting.

The only thing I really looked for was newcomers who stood out physically. I would say TK, Dillon Bates, Hendrix and Weatherd were the guys who weren't here in the spring who jumped out at me.

Really tough to take anything away from helmets only days though.
 
CBJ:

Liked energy but saw some lulls. Older players did good job coaching younger players. Nothing simulates football condition. What's tomorrow's mental approach? Football is a lifestyle and it comes into play right now.*

Thought did some good things. Lot to correct. Also still just in helmets. Only so much you can do.*

I did i saw a much faster football team in all areas. Just overall team speed i did see much improvement.

-John Brice

Danny O'Brien said probably 6-7 saturdays this summer the entire defense gathered to cookout and bond. O'Brien even cooked venison one week from his hunting excursion.*

Marlin Lane said he took the offensive line out to eat earlier this year and wanted to let them know they're loved same as last year's group.

-John Brice
 
Offensive notes

Practice one of fall camp is in the books as Team 118 took the field on a very mild evening for early August. The team, to their credit, looked very dialed in for their first practice of the year and didn’t seem to have any sort of summer hangover that is sometimes the case when practice begins. I think that played a large part in why the coaching staff also seemed relatively calm – at least during the part that the media was allowed to watch. There were no effort problems and the coaches were able to focus on teaching newcomers and continuing to develop skills in the older guys.

Here are some of the more noteworthy items from the evening.

Special Teams: As Butch Jones said in his press conference on Thursday, one of the biggest challenges that this team will face all season is trying to replace what he called the “Team MVP” in Michael Palardy. Matt Darr appears to be up to the challenge of taking over the punting duties. Darr looked really good during the special teams portion of practice, consistently booming punts of 45+ yards and pinning returners against the sidelines.

Freshman placekicker Aaron Medley took the first extra point attempt of the night in what would prove to be the only kick the media was able to see him take. For those wondering, the extra point was good.

Depth Chart Revealed?: Certainly take this with a grain of salt, but when the team lined up for their walk-through portion of practice before stretching, the offense was as follows:



QB: Justin Worley
WR: Marquez North, Josh Malone, Von Pearson
RB: Marlin Lane
TE: A.J. Branisel
OL: Coleman Thomas, Kyler Kerbyson, Mack Crowder, Marcus Jackson, Jacob Gilliam

After the first team went, it just seemed to be a random shuffling as coaches made sure everyone got a rep at their position. Nathan Peterman came out beside Jalen Hurd in the backfield with the second team offense. Pig Howard, Jason Croom and Josh Smith were with that group at receiver.

Josh Dobbs came in with the third unit. The only notable changes here were Ethan Wolf coming in at tight end and newcomer Darrell Scott lining up to claim the rep at running back.

The offensive line did nothing more than drills all evening, so instead of telling you who can crouch the lowest or crab walk the best I’ll just wait until the pads go on before I judge their work.

Running Backs: I think it’s safe to say that this will be the deepest Tennessee has been at this position in quite some time. Both Marlin Lane and Jalen Hurd look physically stronger than they did in the spring and Hurd seems to have a much better grasp of the offense and the tempo in which he is expected to have in practice.

Treyvon Paulk and Derrell Scott each look like they could add something to this unit. Paulk was sporting a knee brace but moved very well as he recovers from a torn ACL that he suffered last season. He will need to get in better condition, but he is a bigger back who showed a nice burst during drills. Scott is bigger than I thought he would be and doesn’t look as small as the 5’11, 194 pounds that he is listed at. He is a very shifty player who has some speed when he clears the hole and opens it up. Running backs coach Robert Gillespie was very thorough and intentional with Scott, pulling him to the side on a few occasions to teach him and work with him on his technique.

Quarterbacks: It’s tough to get a feel for the quarterbacks in anything other than a scrimmage setting, but I thought that, as a group, they had a solid start to camp. In the routes vs. air session that I saw, Nathan Peterman, Justin Worley and Josh Dobbs went 54 of 63 as a unit. Considering that five of those incompletions came in the first sixteen throws, I thought they did a good job once they settled down. That settling down, however, did come after an animated Butch Jones got on his signal callers for a lack of focus.

There was also noticeably more zip on the quarterback’s passes than they had in the spring. Obviously, that is thanks in large part to the work they have put in during their time in the weight room this offseason, but also a product of being much more comfortable in the system and on the same page with their receivers.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: This wide receiver unit has a lot of confidence heading into camp. Von Pearson was especially chatty on the evening, always encouraging teammates and conversing with coach Zach Azzanni. Pearson had a few impressive catches in drills and is a player that is starting to gain confidence in his role as a slot receiver.

Marquez North is a physical specimen, which he demonstrated by nearly flipping a blocking sled in a running drill. He makes difficult catches look routine and at this point, I’m not sure if any ball can be thrown out of his reach. He ran down multiple deep balls that looked like they would be overthrown.

Spring holdout Pig Howard was also back on the field tonight and it didn’t look like the time he missed hampered his development at all. He looks to be in great shape and his teammates were very supportive of him as he went through drills. With Von getting all the reps in the spring, it will be very interesting to see what kind of role Pig can carve out for himself in the offense.

Daniel Helm and Ethan Wolf have transformed their bodies and no longer look like freshmen. Both run extremely well at the tight end position and seem to be on pace to have a large role in the passing game. With all of the talent and explosiveness at receiver, these two guys could turn into real weapons as teams focus on the receivers and underestimate their talent.
 
Defensive Notes:


We’ll start by reminding, as always, on the first day of practice that you shouldn’t look too much into depth chart or anything else that happens. These observations are first impressions of guys who aren’t even wearing pads yet and should give a baseline for where some guys are, but are far from indicative of what we’ll see come the week of Utah State.

With that out of the way, here’s what we saw as the Vols opened practice Friday night at a soon-to-be expanded Haslam Field:

• We got a feel for at least the initial depth chart as they walked through some formations (all these will be nickel):

1st defense:

DE Curt Maggitt, DE Corey Vereen, DT Jordan Williams, DT Danny O’Brien, LB A.J. Johnson, LB Jalen Reeves-Maybin, CB Cam Sutton, CB Emmanuel Moseley, NB Justin Coleman, S Brian Randolph, S Devaun Swafford



2nd defense:

DE Jaylen Miller, DE LaTroy Lewis, DT Owen Williams, DT Dimarya Mixon, LB Dillon Bates, LB Kenny Bynum, CB Riyahd Jones, CB D’Andre Payne, NB Malik Foreman, S LaDarrell McNeil, S Lemond Johnson

3rd defense:

DE Kendal Vickers, DE Derek Barnett, DT Allan Carson, DT Trevarris Saulsberry, LB Neiko Creamer, LB Gavin Bryant, CB Rashaan Gaulden, CB Michael Williams, NB Elliott Berry, S Cortez McDowell, S Todd Kelly Jr.

• Depth chart thoughts: Not too many stunners right off the bat. The starters are mostly what we saw in the spring with one relatively unsurprising wrinkle being Jordan Williams getting the first crack at the three-technique. The only thing that caught us a little off guard was Devaun Swafford starting at safety. He worked as a second-team safety for most of the spring and the coaches must’ve liked what they saw then and over the summer.

Trevarris Saulsberry working with the third team behind a guy like Dimarya Mixon was a little surprising. Saulsberry is coming off an injury and it
might be a matter of getting him back into shape a little. We’ll keep an eye on him as the pads go on over the next few days. Most of the newcomers are starting off a little further down the depth chart. That’ll be something we’ll track closely. Again, I wouldn’t put a ton of stock into what unit a newcomer was working with this early in the process. Expect many of them to work at multiple positions and to shuffle around the depth chart.

Other notes/observations:

• Freshman defensive tackle Charles Mosley did make an appearance as a spectator, albeit in a large cast and unable to put any weight on his leg after a car crash in the offseason.

Freshman DB Evan Berry
Freshman DB Evan Berry
• We didn’t get a great feel for how Evan and Elliott Berry will be used. Elliott worked as a nickelback, but also went through at least one drill as a safety. Evan, though he said he was a corner in interviews recently, was working with the safeties primarily. Both are obviously talented and versatile, and we’ll keep a close eye on where they work throughout camp.

• All of the newcomers were impressive physically on this side of the ball. Dillon Bates looks ready to step on the field Week 1. Rashaan Gaulden, who worked as an outside cornerback, is extremely tall and long. Safeties – Todd Kelly Jr. and Cortez McDowell – are extremely well-built for their position. Linebacker Chris Weatherd looks long and athletic as well.

• Maybe one of the best signs for the defense was seeing a healthy and active Curt Maggitt ready to go. For the first time in recent memory, he had no brace or wrap on and he’s clearly one of the leaders up front.

• Even though it was non-contact work today, defensive tackle Allan Carson still found himself in the hole, the area injured players work.

• A couple special teams notes: Matt Darr appeared to have a good first day. He was up and down in the spring, but he was hitting punts consistently well Friday night. Justin King, Danny O’Brien and Jashon Robertson were working as the three-man personal protection wall in front of him on punt.

• We didn’t get much feel for a depth chart per se, but these were the guys working as punt returners: Devrin Young, Vic Wharton, Pig Howard, Johnathon Johnson, D’Andre Payne, Josh Malone, Evan Berry, Von Pearson, Adrian Gamble, Jacob Carter and Cam Sutton.
 
@Volquest_Paul: Butch says freshman Aaron Medley hit a 'game-winning FG' that Butch threw at him as a surprise. Also says the team is faster overall.

ennessee Football ‏@Vol_Football 1m
JONES: Cody Blanc was the only injury from practice, awaiting further word on him.

@John_BriceVQ: . @UTCoachJones says @gotmy_weightup looks much different. Praises Blair's transformation since spring. #Vols
 
Reeves-Maybin up 20 pounds. Now 230. Says he gets tired of eating sometimes but worth it.


Marlin Lane said he thought the offense met the coaches' expectations for the offensive tempo today.


Randolph said he's up from 190 to 210, and he did it for durability.

A.J. Johnson said the team came out with plenty of energy today and was ready to play, but there's always room to get better.


Kerbyson: This team has great chemistry. That's gonna help us get better.

Kerbyson: Blair doesn't look like the same guy. Is so much better conditioned now. We're all really proud of him.

Jackson said he's not taking anything differently from the way he did his redshirt year. Said he's excited about this team and this group up front.

Kerbyson: We got a bit sloppy at the end of practice with our sets and our techniques, but we'll improve. We can do it.

Butch: This is a faster team, no question. But we need to get off blocks, make plays, use that speed.

Butch: We challenged every player in our program to learn as quickly as possible, give us fast answers. We need to be quick-minded like that. We have to text them.

Between drops and fumbles, about 60 balls hit the ground today. Good teams have more like 18 or so. Our accuracy needs to improve. But this was the first day.

Butch: Dillon Bates always goes and finds AJ Johnson out there on the field. It's kind of funny.

Butch: Pig had good moments today. But we need more consistency from him.

Jones: Cody Blanc was injured today in practice. Maybe an ankle or Achilles' tendon. We'll know more after he sees doctor.

Butch: Blair looks like a different guy mentally and physically. Proud of him. He's worked hard.


- All from Callahan and Rucker
 
TEAM

Tight end Von Reeves and quarterback Erik Ainge were among the ex-Vols in attendance.Hunter Dale, a Scout three-star safety from John Curtis Christian in Louisiana, was a camp observer.Redshirt junior Allan Carson was the lone*member of Team 118 in "The Hole."

OFFENSE

Freshman Vic Wharton, mid-term freshman Josh Malone and junior Johnathon Johnson looked really good in a wide receivers drill in which they ran around poles and caught balls thrown at them from opposite directions. The drill requires exceptional reflexes and concentration. JUCO transfer Von Pearson, one of the stars of spring practice, struggled a bit with this drill.Running with the first team at skill positions Malone, Pearson, Marquez North, Brendan Downs, Marlin Lane.Quarterbacks Justin Worley, Josh Dobbs and Nathan Peterman joined the running backs in a ball-security drill. Each ball-carrier had to run inside a 10-foot circle, absorbing blows to the forearms as he passed by interns wielding padded clubs.Junior wide receiver Cody Blanc needed crutches leaving Haslam Field. Coach Butch Jones confirmed Blanc's injury, which is either an Achilles' tendon or an ankle. Blanc is expected to have an MRI taken soon.Butch Jones said he was impressed with quarterbacks' retaining of*knowledge but the accuracy was lacking.

DEFENSE

Defensive tackle Alan Carson spent the workout in “The Hole,” reserved for players who are not cleared for practice.Defensive end Corey Vereen stated he expects Tennessee to blitz "10*times more" than a season ago.Defensive end Curt Maggitt provided an ample amount of coaching to a newcomer-filled defensive front. His actions echo what Jones referred to this summer with the evolution into being a player-led team.Vereen admitted that a majority of the newcomers on the D-line were swimming their first day. However, he spoke*highly of the athleticism that group now contains.The defensive backs have work to do to get up to practice speed under this staff. An issue seen on the back end is the leaders may be cerebral and know what to do but few are vocal types. That must change to enhance*the maturation of a group that's so vast and deep. Few May enrollees played with top-end speed Friday.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Freshman wideout Vic Wharton and freshman cornerback Evan Berry joined Devrin Young, Pig Howard, Cameron Sutton, Jacob Carter and mid-term enrollees Von Pearson and Josh Malone fielding punts from the JUGS gun.Jones said he surprised freshman kicker Aaron Medley with an end-of-practice game-winning scenario. The rookie from Lewisburg surprised Jones somewhat and executed. Medley will be tough to beat out for placekicker duties in 2014. Medley worked as first-team kicker. Matt Darr worked as first-team punter.
 
Swafford scored more TDs last year than our best returning player.. haha

I like hearing that. Seems like he and Coleman are ones we know right now will play nickel, and I'm sure some others will get in the mix.

Sorta reminds me of Vinnie Sunseri......
 
Last edited:
Being big wasn’t a problem for Dontavius Blair this spring.

Everything else was, though.
The 6-foot-8, 300-plus-pound offensive tackle hadn’t needed great technique before he arrived at Tennessee this spring as a four-star junior college prospect. He hadn’t needed to be in great shape, either. His size had generally overcome all those things. When in doubt, he was bigger and just naturally more powerful than just about anyone who had the guts to try taking down the tower.
But this spring was different. Blair gasped for air less than halfway through his first workout with the Vols, and his first practice wasn’t much better. He eventually was replaced by fifth-year senior walk-on Jacob Gilliam at first-team left tackle.
Rather than sulk going into the summer, though, the Alabama native chose to sweat. He dedicated himself to strength, conditioning and technique more than he ever had before, and the results were clear Friday night on Haslam Field.
Blair didn’t look out of place during the Vols’ first preseason camp practice. He looked good. Second-year Tennessee head coach Butch Jones and several players noticed it.
“He looks much different,” Jones said. “Dontavius Blair has worked exceptionally hard in the strength and conditioning area. He has a lot more confidence. You can see it in his approach, you can see it in the meetings and obviously you can see it in the weight room. I thought that translated on the field today, as well.”
Junior guard [/b]Marcus Jackson[/b] smiled when asked whether Blair was really as much improved as he seemed to be Friday night.
“No question. No question,” Jackson said. “He doesn’t look like the same guy.”

Junior Kyler Kerbyson, Tennessee’s other first-team guard, said Blair has made “huge strides” the past few months, and that Vols offensive line coach Don Mahoney mentioned it to the entire group before leaving the field after the two-hour workout.
“He’s probably dropped 6 or 7 percent body fat since the spring,” Kerbyson said. “Our first spring practice, it was a struggle for him. Halfway through the practice, he was breathing hard, his stance was getting kind of sloppy. But today he really held his own and was able to finish the practice. I’m really proud of the guy.
“Coach Mo even pointed it out after practice, when we met up. He really has made some strides. He really has. I think he can really help us out this year.”
Gilliam — who in fairness also seemed to have a solid summer — remained the first-team left tackle Friday night, at least during the practice periods open to reporters.
The bigger guy seemed to be the bigger story, though — at least this night.
“The amount of potential on him is enormous,” Kerbyson said. “We really want to work with the guy and get him conditioned. All his technical things are right, too. He’s a big frame, so maybe before he used that frame to help him out, you know? He (dominated) just because he was so much bigger than everybody else, so he’s got to work on his sets and hands and conditioning and all of that, and he has.
“Dontavius has really held it on himself to be the best he can, and he’s able to answer questions in meetings, too. He wasn’t able to do to that when he first got here. I’m really proud of the guy for stepping up.”

- 247
 
Scotty's Flat Top said:
"Swafford will play a lot, the coaches love him"

Says will play both safety and nickel.
Click to expand...

I like that. Hard to believe he was the walk on and Foreman was so coveted. I hope Foreman can contribute. Kid was really athletic. Crazy Moseley is running with the ones and he had every shot to take the job
 
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