Some notes and observations from the practice field on Tuesday afternoon as the Vols worked in shorts, helmets and shoulder pads on their final practice of “camp” with classes starting on Wednesday.
Green team: It was the fairly usual cast of characters in green, non-contact uniforms including Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Austin Smith. Though Butch Jones doesn’t provide up-to-date, in-depth injury information on every player, it seems the Vols are having a relatively healthy camp so far with at least no confirmed major injuries to this point.
Special teams: I spent some more time watching the punters during the special teams portion of practice. I have good and bad news from that area. The good news is Trevor Daniel continues to be an absolute stud – regularly launching punts 45+ yards with great hang time and good rotation on the ball.
He’s certainly a legitimate All-SEC contender. The bad news is there’s very little behind him – just some walk-ons who have little consistency at this point. Punter injuries obviously aren’t super common, but keeping Daniel healthy will be important.
“Throw game”: Obviously there are a lot of eyes on the passing game right now – especially in the race for the backup quarterback spot (and by extension the early leader for the 2017 starting job). I’d still put Quinten Dormady as the leader in the clubhouse, but Jarrett Guarantano continues to impress.
Guarantano to Brooks, who can't hang onto this one pic.twitter.com/oTUgGLoL1h
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) August 16, 2016
It’s fun to watch Dormady and Guarantano duel. They often throw right after one another, and sometimes side-by-side, and while neither is perfect, they both throw it extremely well. I’d give Dormady the slight edge in accuracy right now, but Guarantano the edge in arm strength.
Dobbs, Dormady & Guarantano throw side-by-side pic.twitter.com/XRk2hFGhZo
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) August 16, 2016
