Vols Spring Practice #9

[Fingers]

Jermod McCoy, who is recovering from a torn ACL, Jaydin Loftin and Jourdan Thomas were off to the side riding a stationary bike. Freshman Christian Gass, Jeremias Heard, Jamal Wallace, Arion Carter, Emmanuel Okoye, Daevin Hobbs, Mariyon Dye, and Christian Charles were in a group that was doing some light stretching while the team was in individual work. Freshman linebackers Jaedon Harmon and Jadon Perlotte were not full-speed. Nathan Robinson is also still sidelined. Miles Kitselman is out for the next few months with a pectoral injury. Braylon Staley was not seen this morning while the media was present but sources have indicated he scrimmaged the entire time on Monday. He very well could have been out there after the media left.

Running back Daune Morris was in a red noncontact jersey this morning. Cornerback Marcus Goree was off to the side while the media was present. Offensive lineman Gage Ginther was not in pads on Wednesday. Wide receiver Amari Jefferson and tight end Cole Harrison were in yellow jerseys this morning.

We continue to hear how Kaleb Beasley is coming along and having a good spring.

Jake Merklinger looked the best of the three quarterbacks as his consistency continues to shine this spring. He has come a long way. We thought George MacIntyre had a good day throwing the football, specifically on the run outside of the pocket. Nico Iamaleava wasn’t bad, but missed on a couple of throws high on some slants to the back of the endzone.

Wendell Moe Jr. was at left guard with Heard on the outside while Sam Pendleton was at right guard with Larry Johnson to his right. William Satterwhite was the first center working in group setting.

e.cain

We also saw tight end Miles Kitselman present at practice and watching closely during some special teams work. The senior has his right arm in a sling after his upper-body procedure. Head coach Josh Heupel praised Kitselman’s leadership after the scrimmage and said the Vols will continue to need it even while he’s not out there.

We saw the Vols continue to work some more pistol-look early in practice. Time will tell if it becomes a thing or not during the season, but Tennessee does seem to be working it into the repertoire. On Wednesday it was some toss-sweep pitches from the quarterbacks to the running backs coming out of stretch. Then they worked some regular mesh-point handoffs out of the pistol.

For those asking about Nico Iamaleava mentioning a “new scheme” earlier this spring, well, here is another answer about some of the wrinkles the Vols appear to be trying out this spring.

Jakobe Thomas and Edrees Farooq had some good reps while Andre Turrentine and freshman Sidney Walton sought out some pointers after theirs.

The Stars were working on coverage techniques off the line, but it was more notable who was repping there. It was Boo Carter, Kaleb Beasley, freshman Dylan Lewis and walk-on Montrell Bandy. Beasley by this point early in his career has worked at every spot in the secondary after the former Top247 prospect out of Nashville’s Lipscomb Academy played cornerback as a freshman and shifted to safety ahead of his sophomore season.

The safety position looks pretty crowded with three of the top four back from last season and Farooq pushing while Charles is sidelined, but the Vols need a No. 2 Star behind Carter – could Beasley be that guy?

First, with Staley not practicing, walk-on Dayton Sneed, the older brother of 2026 Tennessee tight end commitment Carson Sneed, was first in line. You may remember him showing out in the Orange & White Game last season. The 6-foot, 196-pounder had some good reps on Wednesday, getting a toe down inbounds on one fade to the back of the end zone and making a one-handed catch while getting a foot in on another one.

Behind him in the slot were Tommy Winton III, the walk-on transfer from East Tennessee State and former Knoxville Catholic High School standout who played on special teams for the Vols last season, and Jefferson, who got some kudos from the staff for correcting his technique on his break into a corner route.

Freshman Radarious Jackson made a couple of nice plays, going high to snag the ball on a slant route to the back of the end zone and earning some praise for his technique on an out route.

It wasn’t the best day throwing for Nico Iamaleava, who otherwise has been sharp when we’ve watched him this spring. He was dealing in the scrimmage on Monday night, but he sailed fade balls to Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell II and just couldn’t get the accuracy right on those quick throws to the tight ends. He threw wide of Ethan Davis (might have been a mix-up between where Iamaleava thought he was going and where he went) and low to another player.

The most accurate quarterback was redshirt freshman Jake Merklinger. Not sure he missed a throw during this session, which is how it should be against air but isn’t always. Merklinger is throwing with good zip on the football, the ball placement typically was where it needed to be and he threw accurately on the run in a couple of reps.

His best throw was a back-shoulder to Trey Weary that he whistled right by the support staffer’s ear to his receiver.

p.brown

Was really impressed with the majority of Nico Iamaleava's red zone throws. Great placement at the back pylon with the loft to get over DBs. Far improved from those throws we saw at this point last season. Had a couple he'll want back but hit on nearly all that I watched.

Jake Merklinger also looked improved in this area, too. Less of a hit rate than Iamaleava, but had some really nice balls at the back pylon and over the middle of the back of the end zone.

Rough day for George MacIntyre in the reps that we watched. Missed a good bit of back pylon throws and the ones completed were a bit flat and would be in harms way with a defender. Had some throws to build off of but was a step down from Iamaleava and Merklinger's reps.

Ethan Davis worked on jamming a defender at the goal line before turning around to catch a pass a couple inches in the end zone. First rep the timing was off with Nico Iamaleava. Joey Halzle helped get the timing down and it went fine from there.

Jack Van Dorselaer had a drop early but bounced back with a couple nice catches

Dayton Snead couldn't get under a beauty to the back pylon from Nico Iamaleava early. Was working with the ones with Braylon Staley out today. Responded by coming up with some nice catches for Iamaleava as they got more reps.

Chris Brazzell II also looked really strong. Crisp routes, clean footwork and strong hands. Looks the part of an every Saturday starter and difference marker Tennessee is going to need him to be, although it's tough to fully tell on air.

Jeremiah Telander is the head of the line backer room. Everyone follows exactly what he says and does. Interested to see the dynamic once Arion Carter is back in the fold, as well.

Ethan Davis is stepping pretty seamlessly to the top of the tight end room without Miles Kitselman. Unquestioned guy there right now as Kitselman recovers. Kitselman was at practice with a sling on his right arm. Was giving instructions to the room after reps.

Boo Carter spent the practice portion that was open solely with the defense again. Doesn't seem like the coaches are lying about him being a defensive back with limited roles on offense when called for.

r.sylvia

Tennessee did its routes on air portion of practice in the red zone, working from the five yard line and then backing up to the 10-yard line. Nico Iamaleava led the group, throwing to Ethan Davis, Mike Matthews and Chris Brazzell. He also jumped back in at the back of the rotation and threw to Kyle Miller, Da’Saahn Brame and Tommy Winton.

It was a pretty strong period for Iamaleava who was mostly accurate throwing the football. Winton had one really nice catch on a fade route. Iamaleava and Davis were not in sync on one quick hitch route and they quickly re-ran the route and connected

Travis Smith Jr had a really nice catch on a Jake Merklinger throw while Jack Van Doreselaer dropped a pass on an out route that he reached with one arm with.

On the defensive line, Dominic Bailey, Bryson Eason, Jaxson Moi and Tyree Weathersby were the first four going through drills. Weathersby looks great entering his redshirt sophomore year and could be in line for a much bigger role in his third season.

Bailey did pushups after jumping offsides during one drills as as defensive analyst Robert Ayres. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner was getting after Isaiah Inge for jumping offsides himself.

r.schumpert

 

[Volfan76]

e.cain












p.brown











r.sylvia






r.schumpert

First!

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

First!

2nd

 

[VOLfrombama]

It's really good to hear LJ3 taking a step at RT

 

[WillisWG]

Some Media stirring the QB pot today. Glad to hear Jake progressing. If Nico is going to have a off day better it be in the Spring but then again not all saw it as an off day.

 

[Vols91]

I’m ready for the season

 

[PEPPERJAX]

PHANGERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Adam2014]

Sounds like Merk will be the starter this year

 

[barrylee]

Do they watch the same practice? Couple say Nico was off and Jake was stellar. Then another couple say Jake was good but not as sharp as Nico!

Confusing.,

 

[DougVol]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Do they watch the same practice? Couple say Nico was off and Jake was stellar. Then another couple say Jake was good but not as sharp as Nico!

Confusing.,

Par for the course with these guys.

I'll side with Patrick Brown in that, I don't think missing two redzone touch passes means you were off that day lol.

 

[Oldvoldad]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

This is 2025. Step backs are not allowed nor tolerated!

 

[WillisWG]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

Yes, yes we can

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

Yeah. Why couldn't we win 9 games?

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

Can we? Yeah. It would take winning all toss ups and not dropping one we have no business losing though, which Heupel is yet to do here.

 

[Pride85]

Can we win 9 games this year? Feel like we may take a few steps back.

Why do you feel that way? What has happened that you have that feeling so early in the prep process for next season?

 

[PlanetVolunteer]

Can we? Yeah. It would take winning all toss ups and not dropping one we have no business losing though, which Heupel is yet to do here.

What about all the times Heupel won games he shouldn't have? We are literally sitting at 9.5 in Vegas. It's more likely than not we win 9 games.

 

[Ned Ray McWorkher]

Can we? Yeah. It would take winning all toss ups and not dropping one we have no business losing though, which Heupel is yet to do here.

At this point, the only question marks are UGA, UA & UF. We damned well better beat these other teams. Less than 10 wins will be a disadamnpointment.

 

[LegionnaireOfTheMiserable]

What about all the times Heupel won games he shouldn't have? We are literally sitting at 9.5 in Vegas. It's more likely than not we win 9 games.

What times were those? Maybe Alabama in 2022, but he hasn’t beaten anyone else he shouldn’t have beaten. He was won a few toss ups, but he has only beaten two teams that finished ranked ahead of Tennessee at the end of the year, and one of those was Kentucky.

 

[Bloodrunsorange27]

Two biggest issues going into the season IMO
1. There is still a large talent gap between us and legit top 5 teams. We would need to be signing top 5 classes and killing it in the portal to close the gap. We aren’t close to that
2. Offensive play calling and strategy. Over the last two seasons we’ve gone from the best offense in the country to a very basic and predictable offense. Coaches/players from Arkansas and Ohio State both made comments after beating us that they knew what we were going to run and what we would audible to based on what they showed on defense. Play calling has been terrible.
Hand off, throw in the flat, throw deep.
No misdirection, screens, rolling pocket, etc.
Is it Heupel? Is it Golesh leaving?

You could also add a 3rd area of concern and that is player development in certain areas. Especially the offensive line.

Maybe at some point we can close the talent gap, but is Heupel the kind of coach who can self assess and make the changes needed to get back to being an explosive offense?
After last season I have less confidence that he can do that

 

[Volizona]

Two biggest issues going into the season IMO
1. There is still a large talent gap between us and legit top 5 teams. We would need to be signing top 5 classes and killing it in the portal to close the gap. We aren’t close to that
2. Offensive play calling and strategy. Over the last two seasons we’ve gone from the best offense in the country to a very basic and predictable offense. Coaches/players from Arkansas and Ohio State both made comments after beating us that they knew what we were going to run and what we would audible to based on what they showed on defense. Play calling has been terrible.
Hand off, throw in the flat, throw deep.
No misdirection, screens, rolling pocket, etc.
Is it Heupel? Is it Golesh leaving?

You could also add a 3rd area of concern and that is player development in certain areas. Especially the offensive line.

Maybe at some point we can close the talent gap, but is Heupel the kind of coach who can self assess and make the changes needed to get back to being an explosive offense?
After last season I have less confidence that he can do that

2. Still baffles me. I just still don’t get what drove this drastic change in offensive strategy. I don’t agree that it was personnel or talent level. It is a change in philosophy and I don’t get it

 

[Jackcrevol]

Two biggest issues going into the season IMO
1. There is still a large talent gap between us and legit top 5 teams. We would need to be signing top 5 classes and killing it in the portal to close the gap. We aren’t close to that
2. Offensive play calling and strategy. Over the last two seasons we’ve gone from the best offense in the country to a very basic and predictable offense. Coaches/players from Arkansas and Ohio State both made comments after beating us that they knew what we were going to run and what we would audible to based on what they showed on defense. Play calling has been terrible.
Hand off, throw in the flat, throw deep.
No misdirection, screens, rolling pocket, etc.
Is it Heupel? Is it Golesh leaving?

You could also add a 3rd area of concern and that is player development in certain areas. Especially the offensive line.

Maybe at some point we can close the talent gap, but is Heupel the kind of coach who can self assess and make the changes needed to get back to being an explosive offense?
After last season I have less confidence that he can do that

pistol formations are dogwater.

 

[Jackcrevol]

2. Still baffles me. I just still don’t get what drove this drastic change in offensive strategy. I don’t agree that it was personnel or talent level. It is a change in philosophy and I don’t get it

Starting QB is practicing with walkons.

Not ideal.

 

[orangebloodgmc]

Starting QB is practicing with walkons.

Not ideal.

Wasn't that when he jumped back into the drill for his second go-round?

 

[Jackcrevol]

Wasn't that when he jumped back into the drill for his second go-round?

not sure, i'm more concerned about lack of depth at WR