Tennessee was back on the practice field on Tuesday afternoon as they prepare for the Orange & White Game on Saturday.
It was quite a windy practice. But most of the days they’ve been on the practice field this spring have featured less than ideal weather. We looked primarily at the defense today, including a lots of observations with the linebackers.
Here are a few notes from practice No. 13 in the spring for the Vols.
- Tennessee’s defensive linemen were working on agility drills for most of the periods that we saw. They would sprint from the middle of the field to hit tackling dummies on the side of the field.
- I thought Jonathan Kongbo looked particularly sharp. He worked with the defensive linemen today and looked very quick. He worked alongside Shy Tuttle and Kyle Phillips primarily, with Tuttle working at nose guard. With Kongbo’s versatility in that defense, there’s a good chance that could be the starting down linemen in a 3-4 scheme.
- The linebackers worked on the same stuff we always see in the first period. But defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer wasn’t pleased with their effort for a lot of the work I saw. Shanon Reid was a guy who was particularly being encouraged by his teammates and challenged by the coaches.
- Quart’e Sapp and Daniel Bituli continue to be the two inside linebackers leading the way in just about every drill. You could perhaps pencil them in as the starting duo at that position this weekend for the spring game.
- Jeremy Pruitt worked a little bit with the linebackers in their individual drills before returning to the back field with his defensive backs.
- Darrin Kirkland Jr. continues his comeback with the inside linebackers, but he appears to be learning the ropes first and foremost at the moment. He went through drills with everyone else, but was always the third or fourth guy to take part.
