Tennessee football returned to the Anderson Training Center on Thursday morning for its second practice of fall camp. The Vols were in helmets only for the second straight day before they put shells on after Friday’s off day.
The first three portions of practice were open to the media meaning we were able to watch only approximately 15 minutes of practices. With that limited of a practice viewing time, there are only so many takeaways that one can glean.
With that, it’s on to the notes and observations.
Offense
Let’s start with updates on availability which saw some minor movement in both directions from the opening practice of fall camp. Mike Matthews once again went through stretches without his helmet on before not participating in any receiver drills during the open portion of practice. Cam Seldon remained in a red non contact jersey as he continues to recover from offseason shoulder surgery.
On the offensive line, Larry Johnson Jr. was back to full go while Javontez Spraggins was not on the practice field for the open portions of practice.
Moving on to the rest of the offensive line, Tennessee was doing tandem blocking work. Andrej Karic and Dayne Davis worked together on the left side of the offensive line while Jackson Lampley worked at right guard in Spraggins absence beside John Campbell Jr.
LSU transfer Zalance Heard continued to work with the second team while wearing a leg sleeve and knee brace on his left knee. We’ll continue to monitor his participation level throughout camp.
Tennessee’s quarterbacks worked on route combinations with running backs out of the backfield in what was a very crisp portion of practice. Cam Seldon did go through work during that portion of practice which was a positive sign.
Another positive sign on the injury note, Bru McCoy was a partial participant in the routes on air portion of practice after not participating at all on Wednesday. While he was working, he was getting reps with Nico Iamaleava along with tight end Holden Staes, slot receiver Squirrel White and wide receiver Chris Brazzell II. When McCoy didn’t run routes it was Dont’e Thornton that got work with the Vols’ starting quarterback.
Tight end Ethan Davis worked with Iamaleava on the first day of camp so it is worth noting the change in rep order on Thursday.
The Vols most worked on underneath routes while the media was at practice so it was unsurprising that Iamaleava and Tennessee’s pass catchers were very sharp. Don’t believe an Iamaleava pass hit the ground while we were out there.
Things were less crisp for Gaston Moore and the second team pass catchers. Some of that had to do with inaccurate passes while some of it had to do with drops.
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Defense
We will start with injury notes and one new one as Temple corner transfer Jalen McMurray was not dressed out at practice. Tennessee is very thin at corner entering the season and needs McMurray to provide depth as a second team corner.
For the second straight day, both freshman linebackers Jordan Burns and Grier Short (walk ons) were not dressed out and working off to the side.
It was a lot of normal drill work for Tennessee’s defense. The secondary was walking through zone concepts while we were on the practice field. With the multitude of departures in that group this offseason there is a leadership void at the spot. Safety Andre Turrentine appears to be the guy stepping up into that role as he steps into his first season as a full time starter.
At linebacker, I was uncertain whether Kalib Perry was on the practice field Wednesday but I did spot him during Thursday’s practice. He’s entering an important junior season where he’ll start in the two-deep after Elijah Herring’s departure via the transfer portal. Perry has had niche roles in his first two seasons but the Vols need him to be a more consistent contributor this season.
Along the defensive line Tennessee has an embarrassment of riches, particularly at edge rusher. Josh Josephs looks stronger and I’m really impressed by Jordan Ross makeup as a freshman that enrolled in June. Lots of edge rushers arrive at college way to slender to even touch the field. That’s not the case for Ross. Tennessee has so much depth that he may not play much at all, but it won’t be because of his build.
