Walt Wells has inherited a talented group of players in his first season in charge of Tennessee’s offensive line. And as experienced as the offensive line may be, many of those players are still young, untested guys. But those younger players are gaining more and more confidence.
It’s a running theme for the Vols as they kick off another season. The game is starting to slow down for some of Butch Jones’ talented youngsters.
One of those players is Ryan Johnson, a highly-touted recruit in the 2016 class who didn’t see the field as a freshman last year.
“Ryan Johnson is one of those guys who continues to get better and better,” Wells told the media during the Vols’ media day. “Is he where we want him to be? No. I don’t mean that in a negative way, we just want to progress him and get him better.”
According to Wells, Johnson had the best offseason out of anybody in the O-line room. And that’s saying a lot.
“Ryan is a guy who is steadily progressing,” Wells said. “He had one of his better practices (Saturday) night, actually. He’s a guy who is playing at guard for us right now, which is probably best suited for him with his strength. He’s developing nicely, he’s just got to see things happen for him and be exposed to those situations, which he’s getting on a daily basis.”
Wells said that Johnson also gets work in at center. But Wells’ new full-time center has impressed him this offseason as well. Senior Jashon Robertson may have plenty of game experience on the offensive line, but he’s seen plenty of growth as well.
“I think Jashon playing a different position has really improved and brought in some leadership skills we needed,” Wells added.
Robertson has played primarily at guard his first three seasons with the Vols. But this spring, Robertson began to make the switch to center. And it’s beginning to pay dividends for the senior.
Johnson and Robertson have made mental adjustments in order to make improvements heading into the new season. Wells said that left tackle Drew Richmond has taken a big step forward as well.
“He’s matured in understanding the game, which helps him to play faster,” Wells stated. “He understands what’s going on with defenses now. He understands the missions of the play and where his body needs to be. He’s continued to develop in the weight room with Rock. That added strength will help him this fall.”
While Johnson, Robertson and Richmond have made mental adjustments, Marcus Tatum has spent a lot of time in the weight room.
When Tatum came in to Tennessee, he was listed as weighing in around 260 pounds. And according to Wells, that was a generous listing. Now as a sophomore, Tatum is listed at 281 pounds, a much more respectable SEC offensive lineman number. Despite his undersized nature, Tatum made his career debut last season against Alabama when Brett Kendrick went down with an injury. That’s not exactly the way you want to start your college career.
But Wells has seen major improvements. Due in large part to his sparring partner on the practice field last season.
“It’s night and day,” Wells said of Tatum’s progress from last year to this year. “I got to observe last year. He was like a lot of typical freshman, overwhelmed. The tempo, pace, strength. An 18-year-old kid going against Derek Barnett. It just wakes you up…when you’re underweight and don’t have that strength, you start doing things just to survive instead of being successful.”
Tatum won’t be able to benefit from squaring off with Barnett this season, but he will be a serviceable option for the Vols.
Tennessee returns over 100 career starts along the offensive line this season. But they will still need several younger players to step up and make contributions, and right now those younger players are showing the type of growth they need to.
