ForumsTennessee Sports Shoulder Pads For First Time This Spring
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – With a roster containing 95 student-athletes, it’s impossible to completely avoid distractions, but head coach Derek Dooley is focused on improving the Tennessee football team day by day.
“My worries when I’m out on the practice field are the (95) guys out there,” Dooley said. “That’s all I can focus on and that’s what the team is focused on. It’s just like a guy with an injury. We can’t worry about the guys that aren’t there that day. We come in the next day, and try to reshape things. We go out the next day and see who’s out there. That’s all you can keep your focus on.”
Dooley addressed the status of All-SEC junior wide receiver Da’Rick Rogers, who was not out on Haslam Field on Thursday morning.
“Da’Rick has some things he has to do internally,” Dooley said. “When he does them, he’ll be back. It’s an internal team issue. It’s something he has to finish doing some stuff and when he does, he’ll be back.”
VOLS TAP INTO SPIDER-SENSE
Day 3 of spring practice for Tennessee marked its first in shoulder pads. From the outset, the Vols struggled with the mentality change.
“The first day in pads and of course, that’s always an exciting day on some fronts,” Dooley said. “Guys had a lot of anxiety and it showed early in practice. We had to get them going. The mental outlook wasn’t what we wanted it to be.”
That is, until the spider drill.
“We had a pretty enthusiastic spider drill, which kind of energized them and we ended up pretty good,” Dooley said. “We have a long way to go, but there were some good things out there. We’ll watch the film and get to the next one.”
What exactly is the spider drill?
“It’s just like an old-fashioned Oklahoma drill, one-one-one,” Dooley said. “We line up with the O-Line and D-Line. In the second level, we have a tight end and linebacker going against each other and a runner going through a barrel. It was just one of those first-day-in-pads-fundamental-toughness drills. It kind of energized everybody.”
The energy was evident at the end of Tennessee’s work on Thursday.
“It felt great being back out there with the guys in pads,” junior wide receiver Naz Oliver said. “You have to deal with having the weight back on your shoulders, but it’s pretty much the same. Football is football.”
BULL IN THE MIDDLE
Rising junior Alex Bullard has entered spring practice with a much clearer idea of his role with the Vols. Last fall when he joined the team as a transfer from Notre Dame, he was in the mix for playing time at tackle, guard and center. After earning a starting job as the left guard — where he played for the first half of the season — he moved to center for the final six games.
This spring, Bullard has been the primary snapper in front of signal caller Bray and he has his mind on helping the team improve its running game, which ranked among the worst in the nation last season.
“Team run period is probably one of my favorite periods in practice,” said Bullard, a Franklin native, who returned to homestate after two years with the Irish. “Not only is it competitive, and, you know, fierce competition, but that is a drill that we, as O-lineman, expect to dominate every time because we are expected to dominate on the line of scrimmage in the games.”
Dooley has made it clear where the Vols putting a focus this spring.
“Our emphasis this spring is what?,” the coach said. “Running the football. And that’s what we’re doing. We’re getting a lot better at it.”
Bullard feels the Vols are adapting well to new offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who has made some changes in hopes of seeing tangible results in the running game.
“Some of the techniques and things are a little different than our old offensive line coach, but he is phenomenal offensive line coach as well,” Bullard said. “Coach Pittman is really encouraging and is willing to work with us, he is willing to put in extra time with us, and he wants the best for us and we know that. So we are going to play hard for him.”
With the changes in the staff and some alterations on the line as sophomore Antonio Richardson figures to see much more time, Bullard says the Vols are primed for improvement and won’t settle for anything less.
“We are all determined and we all want to win,” Bullard said. “(Last year’s record of 5-7 is definitely not good enough. We want to win the SEC East and win the SEC Championship. So, we have to put in the extra work. If you just do what the coaches ask, we will be 5-7. We want to put in the extra work; we want to put in the extra time. We want to be great.”
BALANCING ACT
With an entirely new defensive coaching staff teaching a new defensive scheme this spring, the Vols will have a balancing act to perform as they try to keep their teachings as simple as possible, while still working to implement the multiple defense they would like to roll out this fall.
“It’s the never-ending dilemma of being simple, but not enough or being enough and we don’t know what to do,” Dooley said. “It’s something you battle all the time as a coach. Schematically, you want to do as much as you can do to put the players in a position to have success. Simple is good sometimes, but you also have a hard time creating plays on defense. Complex is good because you have a better chance to stop guys, create plays and create negative plays, but the downside is it requires a lot of learning.”
Another challenge the UT coaching staff faces is making sure their players are in the right positions to best utilize their abilities. For Dooley, one attribute stands out above all others when he is evaluating what position a player should play.
“Really what I’m looking at is body types,” Dooley said. “You take a guy like I think Jacques (Smith) is a good example. When he plays in a 4-3 and he’s a defensive end, he’s a little bit undersized. It doesn’t mean he can’t be good. It doesn’t mean he can’t play. From a prototype of what you want, he’s a little undersized. When you stand him up as an outside linebacker, he’s a perfect size.
“I think Malik (Jackson) would’ve been a good example. He was a 270-pound guy. It doesn’t mean he wasn’t good. He was really good playing on the guard. When you move him out a little bit wider, he becomes possibly even more dominant. It doesn’t necessarily mean they can’t play in the other and can’t be effective, but when you look at a prototype of what you’re looking for, you’re trying to slot the body types in the right spot.”
BULKING UP
While most people are looking to trim down as we get closer to the summer months, Tennessee defensive linemen Mo Couch and Marlon Walls are looking to go in the other direction.
With an emphasis on size on the line in the new defensive scheme, coupled with the fact that both players dropped weight throughout the season last year, both players are working hard on bulking up while still maintaining the athletic abilities that allow them to be successful. “By the end of the season last year I was probably about 273lbs and right now 288lbs,” Walls said. “I am moving good so that is a good thing. That means I put on good weight. Plus (the extra weight) will help me in the 3-4 defense because you have to have a little weight on you.” Couch expressed similar sentiments when asked about his ideal size.
“Towards the end of the season I always tend to lose weight,” Couch said. “I got kind of small, I want to say I was about 270. I had to kind of bulk up to closer to 300 and still be very agile and athletic and have my legs fresh under me. The (coaches) were wanting me to put on weight, but good weight at the same time. I just want to be a very healthy 300 pounds.”
QUOTABLE
HEAD COACH DEREK DOOLEY
(On the difference between first day of pads in the spring and August)
“The first day of pads is usually about the same. The difference is in August is you have to wait a little bit longer. It’s always a new day, and it takes them a day to kind of get used to it.”
(On who the Vols are working at center)
“We’re working (Alex) Bullard, (Mack) Crowder, (Darin) Gooch and (Kyler) Kerybson. Four guys.”
JUNIOR OL ALEX BULLARD
(On Antonio Richardson)
“He is determined. He is still learning a little bit, but it’s easier to take a beast and calm him down and teach him some technique than to take someone who is soft and turn him into a beast. He already has that physical mentality that we are looking for. He just needs to keep going. He has been doing a great job. He has been opening some big holes for us on the left side, him and Dallas. We just have to keep working and we are going to get a lot better; we are not where we need to be.”
(On developing a strong mindset)
“We believe that the offensive line is supposed to be the tightest group on the team. We are, all of them are like my brothers. We have talks and we say, ‘Look, when we play Florida this year we are knocking heads off.’ It is talking like that, and tricking your mind to be violent and be physical, and then we are going to go out and do it.”
(On sticking together as a team)
“Everybody has to stick together. Not just the O-line. All 100 and so players on the team have to stick together as a team. There are going to be times when the offense is clicking and the defense may be struggling, we might have to put up 42 points to win the game. There will be times when the offense is struggling and the defense has to create stops and turnovers. That is all part of being together and being a team, and clicking together.”
SENIOR WR ZACH ROGERS
(On Tyler Bray)
“Tyler was very good this spring. I’m looking forward to the progress he is going to make this spring and summer and the fall camp. It will be good for us.”
(On his progression through the offseason)
“I feel a lot stronger in every aspect. I hit the film room hard this offseason and hit the weights. Coach Mack (McKeefery ) did a great job of putting me through some tough workout this spring and I’m just looking forward to coming out here and playing, just getting the ball rolling and getting back into football season.”
SENIOR TE MYCHAL RIVERA
(On his role in the offseason)
“Just kind of helping out others. Trying to get the young guys, Cam Clear and Brendan Downs. Get those guys caught up and up to speed so if I ever need a break or anything, those guys can come in and fill in and be 100 percent.
(On new TE Coach Charlie Coiner)
“Coach Coiner is a great coach. Been in the NFL 10-plus years and that experience that he has, he’s bringing a lot of knowledge and a lot of wisdom and helping me out a lot.”
JUNIOR DL/LB JACQUES SMITH
(On playing for Coach Sal Sunseri)
“Coach Sal is a great guy. He’s up-tempo, he has a lot of energy and he has a lot of passion for football. That is the type of coach I love. From day one when he introduced himself to the defensive side of the ball, the guys love him and we are getting along great. I’m excited about the season.”
(On if the position switch is natural)
“I think it is a good position for me because it puts me in great matchups against certain people on the offense.”
(On what’s new for him about the position switch to linebacker)
“We have different fronts and there are different times when I’ll be down and up, same thing as last year, just the concepts are a lot different. It’s really the little key things that are different within this defense so we will have to see in the spring.”
JUNIOR DL MARLON WALLS
(On his experience with the 3-4)
“This is all new to me. In high school I was a little bit smaller and played some linebacker, but those days are over. It is a big difference because I’ve never played in this defense before. Like I said, it is very challenging but as a player you like to think a little bit more so it is a good thing.”
(On being in pads for the first day)
“At the beginning it was a little bit tough but you catch your second wind, which is the good part because you get reenergized. You might see a couple guys go after each other out there on the field and that can reenergize you a little bit so it felt pretty good.”
(On improvement on team depth)
“Over the (time I’ve been here) we have had a shortage of guys due to injuries or whatever but this year we are pretty stacked (with depth) which challenges you a little bit more because you have to fight for your job. Depth is a good thing.”
(On moving around positions in the 3-4)
“With this defense we mix (positions) a lot. You have to know both end spots and you have to know what the guy next to you is doing. I have to know what the nose guard is doing which tells me what I have to do. You have to know (the positions).”
JUNIOR DL MAURICE COUCH
(On moving to nose tackle)
“When I previously played at JUCO, I played more end, so just moving around here and learning everything was tough at first learning all the techniques and different adjustments. But now that we get a lot of repetition, it is coming much easier. I am comfortable playing either (nose tackle or end). It’s just lining up to play football.”
(On his improved conditioning level)
“Being here for the spring before heading into the fall makes it a heck of a lot easier because you’re out here early getting conditioning. I kind of struggled a lot (last fall). It’s always been something that I have to deal with. I still struggle at times, but it’s not as bad as it was last year. I manage it very well, do all my treatments with Jason (McVeigh) and everybody and Coach (McKeefery) is a heck of a strength coach. He is after us 24/7 and just keeps pushing us.”
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