Some notes and observations from the offensive side of the ball from the open portion of Tennessee’s practice on Tuesday afternoon:
Injury update: Wide receivers Von Pearson and Josh Smith weren’t on the practice field as they both continue to deal with ankle sprains. Pearson has been ruled out and it’s still hard to see Smith as a realistic option to play before he actually gets on the field and works some.
All the tight ends were moving well. Ethan Wolf, wearing a very minor brace on his knee, was the first one up in drills and he continues to move and cut well. He should be close to full-go on Saturday. Daniel Helm and Joe Stocstill both returned to practice after sitting out the bye week practices. Both were still limping a touch, though both should be available Saturday. Running back Derrell Scott continues to move well. Butch Jones was somewhat non-committal about his availability, but he certainly could play on Saturday.
It may be inconsequential and just part of the process, but it should be noted that LT Jacob Gilliam clearly hasn’t had surgery on his torn ACL and was actually running pretty fast on the side at practice.
Depth chart: No change on the offensive line with (L to R) Kyler Kerbyson, Marcus Jackson, Mack Crowder, Jason Robertson and Coleman Thomas manning the starting unit. Dontavius Blair continues to work as the backup right tackle in drills.
Butch on the mic: Jones emphasized communication to his team today, telling them that they have to talk on the field since they can’t text each other.
Other notes:
• Receiver Josh Malone was the first receiver out on the field and he got some extra work on his hands with the JUGS machine firing footballs at him.
• Phillip Fulmer was in attendance at practice.
• Various Georgia fight songs, cheers and even the Star Wars theme (which UGA plays regularly) were all played at practice to prepare the Vols for Athens. One new touch is they have a cart that they pull the speakers around on to move it closer to the players so the sound is louder.
