A few defensive notes and observations from the open portion of practice as the Vols continue to prepare for Florida.
Injury notes: The defensive side of the ball is about as healthy as Tennessee could hope for at this point in the season. Obviously Dillon Bates isn’t practicing (torn labrum) anymore, but outside of him and Charles Mosley, the Vols literally have no significant injury concerns on this side of the ball heading into Florida. Cornerback Michael Williams, who was in a green, non-contact jersey on Tuesday, was back in his normal jersey Wednesday.
Drills: Creating big plays was the theme during the portion of the practice open to the media. The cornerbacks worked on grabbing interceptions while the defensive line did a drill where they had to maneuver their way around blocking pads on the ground and then get to the quarterback and strip him from behind.
Simulating Florida: Defensive end Joe Henderson is getting the tasking of simulating Florida D-lineman Dante Fowler Jr. this week. Michael Sawyers is working as senior defensive tackle Darious Cummings. On the other side of the ball, quarterback Mike Wegzyn has been simulating Jeff Driskel.
Depth chart notes: Linebacker Chris Weatherd got some work with the first-team defense during walk-throughs alongside A.J. Johnson and Jalen Reeves-Maybin.
• ESPN crews were also on hand to film portions of practice, likely for the broadcast this weekend.
