Tennessee’s spring practices have been crowded since the first day because of Jeremy Pruitt’s open door policy for high school coaches. But Thursday’s practice was even more crowded than usual because of UT’s coaching clinic. There were tons of local and statewide high school coaches in attendance for the Vols’ eighth spring practice, and it made for some cramped working quarters.
Despite the extra people in attendance, it was still a productive day on the field for Tennessee. The weather was immaculate, and the intensity was at an all-time high, especially on the defensive side of the ball.
Here are our biggest takeaways from the Vols’ spring practice session on Thursday.
- The Vols weren’t in full pads on Thursday, only wearing shells and no leg padding. But that didn’t take away from the physicality and energy level during practice. Coaches were still extremely animated, and the players were doing all they could to match that intensity.
- Daniel Bituli is becoming a player coach and leader right before our eyes. Not only is he probably the most physically talented linebacker on Tennessee’s roster, but he’s become the most vocal player in that unit. He coaches up the players along with the actual coaches, and he could be the leader of Tennessee’s defense this season.
- I’ve been very impressed with the physical transformation of both Quart’e Sapp and Will Ignont. Both look bigger, more ripped, and more like SEC linebackers. Solon Page III also looks better and more ready to contribute.
- Tracy Rocker might be my favorite defensive coach on staff. He doesn’t hold back in practices and makes sure he’s getting the most out of every one of his defensive linemen in every drill. He’s constantly giving constructive feedback, getting onto players, and coaching up his unit. I’m very intrigued to see what the defensive line can do this season.
- On offense, staff writer Will Boling told me the wide receivers didn’t have their best day today. There weren’t as many balls on the ground today as there has been in the past, but a decent amount of receivers had to go back and redo a lot of drills.
- Receivers coach David Johnson was coaching his players to high point passes when catching them. He was specifically telling them to catch the ball over their head and bring it down as they finished their route.
