Tennessee football was back on Haslam Practice Field Thursday morning as the Vols took the field for their sixth spring practice.
Three period of Tennessee’s practice were open to the media Tuesday meaning we got to watch about the first 20 minutes which included some stretching at the start. So per usual, only so many conclusions one can draw.
Here’s our notes and observations from Tennessee’s fifth spring practice.
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Offense
Jabari Small was not fully dressed out and didn’t go through any drills during the open portion of practice. The same was the case for walk on receiver Jack Jancek while Bru McCoy was a non participant as he has been all spring. While McCoy and Jancek weren’t out on the field, Dont’e Thornton was back after being limited the last two practices. Freshman tight end Ethan Davis and running back Cameron Seldon were in red non contact jersey.
Thornton is an impressive looking athlete with a rare blend of size and speed. He looked good running routes and clearly has a high ceiling.
Tennessee had its cleanest routes on air portion of the spring this morning as the Vols worked in the red zone. Joe Milton III was extremely crisp and didn’t have a single ball hit the ground while Nico Iamaleava had his best day yet and was very accurate with the football.
Milton threw to a handful of receivers but the leaders taking reps were Ramel Keyton, Jacob Warren, Squirrel White and Chas Nimrod. Iamaleava primarily through to Thornton, Ethan Davis, Chas Nimrod, Kaleb Webb and Nathan Leacock.
The freshman Leacock physically looks like a senior and is completely put together but has battled some drops issues early in camp. Nothing overly serious as he adjusts to the heat behind a Milton and Iamaleava fastball. Fellow freshman Ethan Davis has really impressed me to date. The Georgia native is bigger than I expected him to be and extremely fluid running routes.
Davis repped ahead of UC-Davis transfer tight end McCallan Castles and looks like an instant impact freshman who can help the Vols this fall.
All the running backs were getting plenty of reps with Small sidelined and Seldon limited as well. It’s hard to see him having a major role this season but freshman running back Desean Bishope has some wiggle to him.
Defense
Cornerback Warren Burrell was in a red non contact jersey as was reserve linebacker Kwauze Garland. Defensive backs Brandon Turnage and De’Shawn Rucker were not fully dressed out and Turnage stretched to the side as the Vols began the drill portion of practice. Freshman defensive lineman Daevin Hobbs and Nathan Robinson were not full dressed out either while Robinson sported a brace on his hand.
Today was my first day spending an extended amount of time on the defensive practice field as I got my first long look at a handful of Vols while also seeing the growth of a number of rising sophomores.
BYU transfer linebacker Keenan Pili is absolutely massive. He’s the Vols’ biggest linebacker by a long shot and I’m curious about his ability to play sideline-to-sideline and in pass coverage.
While Hobbs wasn’t doing any team work, he is a big fellow and an impressive looking athlete.
A number of Tennessee sophomore defenders looked good but none more so than linebacker Elijah Herring. Herring played a small role last season and I’d be surprised if it’s not greatly expanded this season.
Joshua Josephs, James Pearce Jr. and Tyre West all three looked bigger than they did in the fall. There’s opportunities for all three this season but I’m particularly intrigued by Josephs and West.
Defensive coordinator Tim Banks was leading a group of defensive backs — mostly safeties — in a tackling drill. Christian Charles, Tamarion McDonald and Cameron Miller were included in the group.
Tyler Baron and Dominic Bailey were leading the way for the defensive line group in all drills as Bailey is stepping up into Byron Young’s practice field role from last season. Speaking of Young, the edge rusher as at Tennessee’s practice Thursday morning and will go through the Vols’ Pro Day in the afternoon.
