Tennessee hit the practice field for the second time this week on Tuesday afternoon. The practice follows the Vols’ double-overtime loss to BYU over the weekend. Intense heat beat down on the Vols as they look to get back on track with a win over Tennessee-Chattanooga this weekend.
The most notable absence from Tuesday’s practice was starting tight end Dominick Wood-Anderson. He was nowhere to be found during blocking drills.
Elsewhere in the tight end group, Austin Pope had a rough day. Pope was thrown out of the drill at one point by Brian Niedermeyer, but he later rejoined the drill.
At running back, Tim Jordan and Carlin Fils-aime were back at practice going through drills in full pads. Freshman Aaron Beasley was no longer working with the running backs after spending all last week with David Johnson’s group. Instead, Beasley was back working with the safeties in the secondary. Beasley began fall camp in the secondary before moving to inside linebacker and then running back. Pruitt moved Beasley around to the other two positions to fight lack of numbers at both units.
Senior inside linebacker Daniel Bituli continues to work back from a knee injury that has caused him to miss the first two games of the season. Bituli was in full pads, going through drills off-and-on. He appeared to be limited.
Tracy Rocker was fiery with his defensive line as the group worked on get-offs under a chute while striking a bag. Rocker got after Savion Williams and Darel Middleton on multiple occasions, telling them, “you have to believe you’re going to get there.”
Elijah Simmons and Kingston Harris were in scout team jerseys once again, but they worked with the defensive line during individual drills. The pair worked with the offensive line during the open portion of practice the previous two weeks.
Redshirt junior linebacker Jordan Allen was back at practice in full pads after missing most of fall camp and the beginning of the season following surgery to repair a torn hip flexor. Allen was with the outside linebackers, but he was extremely limited. A trainer was by him at all times.
Will Friend and Jim Chaney were also fiery with the offensive line, as they have been all fall camp and through the first couple weeks of the season. The O-line worked on blocking in short-yardage situations and also worked on pass-protection. Chaney consistently got on to freshman Wanya Morris and praised sophomore K’Rojhn Calbert on multiple occasions.
Despite a call from the fan base for a change at quarterback, the reps remained the same during the open portion of Tuesday’s practice. Jarrett Guarantano took the first rep, while Brian Maurer or JT Shrout followed in no particular order. Guarantano’s throws looked the best on a more consistent basis than Shrout or Maurer.
Senior wide receiver Brandon Johnson worked solely in the slot.
Tennessee will be back out on the practice field on Wednesday afternoon.
