The Vols were back on the field Friday morning, as they put on the shoulder pads for the first time during fall camp. As they get closer to rocking the full pads, they will also hit the field on Saturday, in a closed practice.
There were three periods of practice open to the media on Friday, as they will continue to cut down on viewing as camp rolls on. Josh Heupel spent most of the opening periods watching the defense work, as they went through multiple drills.
The defense worked on stripping the quarterback, during their running the circle drill, which included the defensive line, linebackers and defensive backs. They also focused on stripping the ball carrier, which Mike Ekeler enthusiastically oversaw. The defensive line continued to work through getting off the ball, as Rodney Garner was trying to get as much as possible from the linemen.
It was mostly turnover drills for the defensive unit for the open periods we were able to watch.
Offense
The quarterbacks were working through red-zone drills, which didn’t look pretty for most of the period. There were overthrown balls and bad connections from the QB’s and WR’s, with a few nice catches thrown in, no pun intended.
Onto the TE’s, where Princeton Fant was a full participant on Friday, after getting acclimated over the past few days. Miles Campbell has the athletic build and movement that Alex Golesh has to enjoy coaching, as he can be a key contributor for the Vols at the light position.
The offensive line were split into guards-centers, while the Tackles put work in separately. It was much of the same type of rotation during these drills as we’ve seen over the past few days.
Notes
Velus Jones Jr., Kamal Hadden and Kaemen Marley were all working off to the side during the open periods. It doesn’t seem like much of a problem, as they were all jogging.
Tennessee will be back on the practice field on Saturday, as they prepare to go full pads next week.
