Some notes and observations from the open portion of practice as the Vols got some work in with what appeared to be mostly their developmental squad on Tuesday afternoon.
Offense:
Quarterback: It appears that the Vols were working out their developmental squad on Tuesday afternoon, meaning many of the starters and veterans weren’t on the field. At quarterback it was only Nathan Peterman, Mike Wegzyn and Devin Smith.
Running backs: Derrell Scott, Justus Pickett and Deanthonie Summerhill were the only RBs of note on the field. It’s a big week for their development with the status of Marlin Lane unknown going forward and the Vols needing to take some of the burden off of Jalen Hurd. The running backs worked on their footwork and worked on catching the ball out of the backfield.
Receivers: Ryan Jenkins, Jacob Carter and Vic Wharton were the only notable receivers working. Again, this is a spot the Vols are working to build more depth at after Marquez North (shoulder) and Josh Malone missed some time game. The passing game wasn’t real crisp in drills, but that’s to be expected with backup QBs and WRs working in tandem.
Tight ends: All the tight ends appeared to be on the field as that’s a position the Vols have a lot of depth and a lot of inexperience.
Offensive line: Dylan Wiesman, Brett Kendrick, Austin Sanders, Marques Pair and Coleman Thomas were the scholarship offensive linemen getting work in. Thomas got some work in last week, but wasn’t in uniform at South Carolina. He continues to look healthier and has a good chance to be available against Kentucky.
Defense:
As mentioned above, today was a developmental practice for many of the young players who aren’t currently listed as a starter (for the most part). There were still a few players that have seen time as a starter present on the field this afternoon, so here’s a look at what we were able to observe tis afternoon.
Todd Kelly Jr. was working with the safeties and received some extra instruction from defensive coordinator John Jancek, who made his way over to the secondary’s half of the field at the beginning of practice. Kelly hasn’t seen the field as much over the last three games as he did in the first half of the season, so the coaches are likely looking to get him some extra reps as they continue to install some of their more complex coverage schemes.
It has never been an ability issue with Kelly, but since he was unable to enroll early he didn’t get as much time with his coaches in the preseason as some of his peers. The lack of extra time is starting to catch up with the freshman safety, so this bye week is coming at a good time.
Jancek mentioned after the South Carolina game that one of the reasons they struggled so much against the pass was that there was some confusion with some of the schemes they had put in. Today was a good opportunity to get some of the younger players more familiar with those schemes.
Cornerbacks Emmanuel Mosely and Mike Williams were also at practice today, despite splitting first team snaps at cornerback over recent weeks. Like Kelly, Moseley and Williams also received some extra instruction from John Jancek during some of their technique drills. Butch Jones also checked in with the cornerbacks today, spending some time observing Willie Martinez coach his group and offer some added encouragement to players like Rashaan Gaulden, Williams and Moseley.
Injury notes: There didn’t appear to be anybody wearing a green jersey or nursing any type of injury on the defensive field, but we should know much more on that front when the starters return to the practice field tomorrow evening.
