Monday was the last day in “shells” – shoulder pads and helmets – for Tennessee before the full pads go on Tuesday. There was a little more heat Monday afternoon as temperatures pushed 90 degrees and the sun was shining.
Here are some of the things we saw on the offensive side the ball:
Depth chart shuffle: We expected there to be plenty of depth chart shuffling throughout camp and we saw a few new faces getting reps on Monday. Nathan Peterman got reps as the first-team quarterback, while Joshua Dobbs and Justin Worley split time with the twos. With no quarterback named, it makes sense that Butch Jones would give reps to multiple guys to let them play out the competition. Josh Smith also got substantial work with the starters ahead of Josh Malone.
Position swap: Freshman Jashon Robertson got a look at left guard. Though recruited as an OL/DL, he had worked with the defense throughout the first weekend. He didn’t see a lot of live action, but he has a good build for that spot at 6-3, 305 pounds.
Live action: At least for the first time in the open portion of practice, we saw a few plays of 11 vs 11 action. They were ‘thud’ tackling, so it’s hard to say exactly how successful each play was, but here’s what they ran:
1st team (Peterman QB)
– Marlin Lane had a short run off the right end
– Peterman kept it on a zone read for about 7 yards
– Peterman faked the jet sweep handoff and hit an open Ellis in the left flat for a medium gain
– Peterman hit Devrin Young on a swing pass to the right for a gain of 15+
2nd team (Dobbs QB)
– Derrell Scott had a short gain off right end
– Low snap from Ray Raulerson led to a throw-away; might’ve been a sack in truly live action
– Scott tackled in the backfield for a loss by Derek Barnett
(Worley in at QB)
– Long completion to Josh Malone down the left sideline over Riyahd Jones
– Incomplete short pass to the right on what looked like a miscommunication
Punt team: Matt Darr again punted with the first team and had several good ones. The starting punt team on Monday also included Danny O’Brien, Justin King, Kendal Vickers, Michael Williams, Devaun Swafford, LaDarrell McNeil, Justin Coleman, Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Cam Sutton. Walk-on Troy Waites was the second-team punter and looked to be a good bit behind Darr at this point. Several newcomers such as Elliott Berry and Chris Weatherd were working with the second-team punt unit.
QB update: Still not a lot of great news to report, though we saw a small bit of improvement on Monday. Joshua Dobbs had some good throws, but is still sailing some of them. Justin Worley is underthrowing a lot of balls. Nathan Peterman didn’t hurt himself in what we saw of his work with the first team, though it’s still difficult to see him really getting in the mix at this point. He’s done some good things in camp. We’ll keep an eye on him going forward.
Injury update: Tight end Woody Quinn spent some time in The Hole. Pig Howard looked liked he was a little sick or dehydrated after one drill, but after some attention, he was able to get back in.
Here’s the link to our Defensive Notes and Observations.
