#VolReport: Vols Embrace Student Practice

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Butch Jones tries to connect with Vol Nation in every possible way. On Saturday, it was with the student body at the University of Tennessee as he welcomed them to a practice at Neyland Stadium.

“(It was a) very productive day, again, thank you to our students for coming out,” said Jones. “Anytime you can get into Neyland Stadium, try to simulate game-like conditions, game speed repetitions, people in the stands, crowd noise, it is very, very beneficial in moving forward and to see how your players will respond.”

Jones has made of point of involving the students and that has resulted in a rise in student attendance at the regular-season games on Rocky Top.

“Most universities student attendance is down but at Tennessee, ours is up,” said Jones. “We talk about all being in it together so to be able to share the day with them, I know it was rewarding, not just for our coaching staff but for our players as well.”

As far as on the field on Saturday, Jones continued to put the Vols through situational football in an effort to prepare them for next Saturday’s Orange & White Game (April 25, 4 p.m. on SEC Network Alternate Channel).

“We worked a lot on kicking game, two-minute drill, get the ball back, red zone, goal line,” said Jones. “I thought our defense did a very good job of keeping the offense out of the end zone for the most part, particularly in the red zone situational where offensively on the flip side of it we need the touchdowns.

“Like we talk about, third down in the red zone is a four point play, whether you give up a touchdown or have to kick a field goal. I thought it was valuable teaching moments, we will come back on Monday and continue to learn from the situational football aspect of things.”

DOBBS LOOKING TO CAPITALIZE ON FINAL WEEK

With 12 practices down and one final week of spring camp still to go, quarterback Joshua Dobbs is focused on squeezing every possible ounce of preparation out of the Vols’ allotted 15 practices, already setting his eyes towards next week’s final two practices before the Orange & White Game on April 25.

“As a unit we need to make sure we finish,” Dobbs said of the UT offense. “It’s easy to get complacent as spring comes to an end and finals are coming up. But we still have to attack every day as we’re still trying to get better, still working to push toward our goal during the season. So we have to finish strong and not get complacent.”

Dobbs continues to emphasize the importance of the process as he and the rest of the offense have battled through some hiccups over the last couple Saturday scrimmages. He hearkens back to head coach Butch Jones’ “brick-by-brick” philosophy in his effort to maximize his April production.

“We’ve had various good practices throughout the spring and so having another one [today] and building bricks–we talk about it all the time. We want to stack chips, stack good practices on top of each other. So we stacked a chip today, and that’s great. So now we’ve just got to finish the spring strong.”

But even each individual practice calls back to a much larger perspective for the 2015 TaxSlayer Bowl MVP, which he alluded to on Saturday as he spoke about the championship expectations this team has taken on.

“When you win and when you come to Tennessee, you come to win an SEC championship and to win a national championship. That’s our mindset–that’s everyone’s mindset when they were recruited to come to Tennessee … Now we have to go out and execute. We have to put in the work now.”

A BERRY GOOD DANCER

After Saturday’s student appreciation practice, the players and students formed a circle as DJ Sterl the Pearl spun music to get the students (and student-athletes) dancing. One of the players in the middle of that circle was sophomore Evan Berry.

Berry says that he dances all the time at practice, but that having the students at practice was “kind of a breath of fresh air.” “Having the students out there,” Berry said, “it can be fun and kind of take your mind off of the physical, actual practice of it.”

While this Saturday’s practice showed an appreciation of the students, last Saturday’s practice showed an appreciation of family. Berry’s father, James, and brother, former UT All-American safety Eric, made the trip to Knoxville to be with Evan and his twin brother Elliott on Family Day.

Eric Berry, who now plays for the Kansas City Chiefs, is in the midst of a battle with Hodgkin lymphoma. Evan Berry, who gave an update less than two weeks ago that Eric is doing “really good,” in his fight against cancer, says that having his brother there on Family Day was really special.

“It was exciting. Knowing what my brother’s going through, for him to make it up here along with my dad, it was definitely very exciting. Words really can’t explain it. It was a great feeling.”

Evan Berry is fighting for playing time at safety for the upcoming season, the same position that brother Eric played. One of his competitors for playing time at that spot is Todd Kelly Jr., another legacy player, but Berry says that competition is a good thing.

“We’re here to make each other better,” says Berry. “Football’s a long season. Anything could happen. Somebody goes down, I have to be ready, or the next person behind me has to be ready, so that’s the kind of mindset I have.”​

TEAMING UP FOR CMG

With the return of the most successful freshmen running back since Jamal Lewis and the entrance of a dynamic junior college transfer, sophomore Jalen Hurd and redshirt-sophomore Alvin Kamara continue to compliment each other as they compete over spring practice.

Coming off a season in which Hurd collected the third-most rushing yards by any Volunteer freshmen, curiosity of the how the Tennessee staff would handle the duo of Hurd and Kamara grew large throughout Big Orange Country.

While competition is healthy, head coach Butch Jones wants the duo to push and rely on one another in order to have the most success.

“I think they all know, they both know that they need each other,” Jones said. “You can never have enough running backs, I think that has been proven over time. Their relationship­­–they push each other, they coach each other, they help each other, they respect each other. I think they both play off each other’s skill sets.”

Kamara feels that his growing relationship with Hurd allows the two to focus more on how to compliment each other rather than how to beat the other in getting the starting role.

“Jalen and I–I feel like we compliment each other well,” Kamara said. “He and I are two goofy guys. We get along well in the meeting room. We blend well. I don’t really feel like there is really any pressure between him and me.”

Knowing Hurd’s abilities, some may wonder why Kamara chose to attend a school where he was not guaranteed a starting position. If his path to Knoxville had not shown it already, Kamara made it clear that he did not want the easy route.

“All the greats have somebody to compete against,” Kamara said. “If you don’t have anybody pushing you, then what fun is it? We just push each other, and we get good results.”

The good results that Kamara mentioned are a byproduct of the mentality both he and Hurd display each time they step on the field.

“We want to be the best,” Kamara said. “That’s what we talk about. It’s CMG. That is our style. We want to take that everywhere we go, any stadium we go.”

Coined by running backs coach Robert Gillespie, CMG stands for `Chain-Moving Gang.’ As the two running backs play off each other throughout the course of the season, their goal remains clear.

“As a running back, that is what we want to do,” Kamara said. “That is our job. We want to move the chains.”

While the two understand that they represent the `Power T’ and have the same goal in mind, they cannot avoid competition. Kamara reflected on a simple game of pool in the team room.

“We were playing pool one day, and it got kind of heated,” Kamara said. “We are competing for everything.”

With a smile on his face, Kamara would not reveal who won.

GAULDEN OUT WITH HAND INJURY

Rising sophomore Rashaan Gaulden will miss the remainder of spring football and will be sidelined for about six weeks according to Jones. Gaulden underwent surgery for a hand injury, but is expected to be back at full-strength during the summer for fall camp.

“(Rashaan) did have surgery, it wasn’t a tendon, which is great, that was positive news,” Jones said following Saturday’s practice. “So we anticipate him being out about six weeks and then he will, if everything goes according to plan, he will be back being able to go through our summer strength and conditioning program.”

Gaulden has been ailing with the hand for a while but gutted through his first season in college, playing in 11 games and making seven tackles, mostly on special teams.

“It is something that he played through last year and to his credit,” said Jones. “I think it set back his develop a little bit in the weight room but to his credit he played through it.”

SOUND BITES

Here are sound bites from #Team119:

HEAD COACH BUTCH JONES

»(On sophomore defensive back Emmanuel Moseley)

“I have been very pleased with Emmanuel [Moseley]. Emmanuel stepped up, he has come right in, just like Emmanuel Moseley does, competing everyday. The retention of our defense, done a good job that way. Again, we talk about center but also who is going to be the other corner. That is the other. We have Cam Sutton but who is going to step up at the other corner position. Not just the corner position but the nickel position as well. Then we welcome some recruits in June. So that is as a competitive spot as the offensive line.”

»(On offensive coordinator Mike DeBord building relationships with player)

“It is very important, not just being he is a new coordinator but it is building that trust. Everything in our culture, we talk about is communication and really getting to know our players, not just as football players but as people. Getting to know their parents, he calls our parents regularly. Like I said before, that office has never seen more people, it is like a revolving door. A lot of times it is not talking about football, it is just talking about life and just generalities. Which is big because it is building that trust. Mike DeBord has a unique way, he has the ability to relate to individuals. That is one of the things that I looked at with a coaching hire. For us, we get older but our audience doesn’t get older. We are still dealing with 17 to 22 year old individuals. They don’t get older as we do get older. So the ability to relate, to have conversations to understand what they are going through, that is very big in our program, that communication, having that contagious energy and that connection. Being connected with our players and Coach DeBord has been able to do that.”

RS SOPHOMORE RUNNING BACK ALVIN KAMARA

»(On appreciating Tennessee after going through the JUCO process)

“Not everybody gets to do this. Not everybody gets this chance that we get to play in front of some of the best fans in the country. Just being out here and competing with my teammates in front of these fans–it’s amazing. I really appreciate it.”

»(On the minor setback with injury during spring practice)

“When things like that happen, you can’t get discouraged. I just got in the training room and did what I had to do, out here practicing this whole week. It has been good to be back.”

SOPHOMORE QUARTERBACK JOSHUA DOBBS

»(On practicing at Neyland in front of the students)

“We had a lot of fun. It seems like each Saturday has been a different experience. It was good to have the students, kick back and do some different things. Change up the monotony of spring practice. It was very fun today, the guys had fun today, and we competed today and got better. That’s all you can ask for.”

»(On living up to championship expectations)

“We’ve talked about it all the time. Obviously expectations are going to be raised. When you win and when you come to Tennessee, you come to win an SEC championship and to win a national championship. That’s our mindset–that’s everyone’s mindset when they were recruited to come to Tennessee. So I don’t feel like there are raised expectations [for us]. That’s always been our expectation. Now we have to go out and execute. We have to put in the work now–the sacrifice, the extra work, the extra times in the weight room, on the practice field, in the film room in order to sacrifice to get to our goals and where we want to be.”

RS FRESHMAN LINEBACKER DILLON BATES

»(On his improvement during the spring)

“I’ve really had a better grasp on the whole entire defense. When I first came in here, I was just getting reps at Will. Now I’m getting reps at Mike, and today I got thrown in a little bit at Sam because of lack of depth. I’ve definitely gotten a better sense of the defense, a better grasp on the defense, and been able to play faster as the game progresses, knowing my position and knowing all the other positions around me. “

»(On competition at linebacker)

“It’s been great. We’ve been competing on the field, off the field, keeping each other accountable. It’s great to have those older guys in the room. Somebody to look up to and compete with and make myself better.”

JUNIOR DEFENSIVE BACK CAMERON SUTTON

»(On competition between the defensive backs)

“What we talk about in the program is just competing. It brings out the best out of all of us. We’re able to put guys into different situations and play multiple positions which helps the defense out overall.”

»(On Emmanuel Moseley staying healthy)

“He comes every day with the same mental approach. Even though he’s wanting on the field, he’s out there at practice walking around getting the mental reps. He can’t do anything physically but he’s getting mental reps. He’s always in the film room, while we’re in the film room with the team and even late nights or before practice. He always around football. Outside of football he’s still the same guy, still jokes around. With that happening, he’s still eating and drinking and he was able to keep that weight on. He didn’t lose much.”

SOPHOMORE DEFENSIVE BACK EVAN BERRY

»(On sophomore defensive back Emmanuel Moseley’s return)

“Hasn’t missed a beat. I was surprised he came out and had three interceptions [Thursday]. He’s been going to the meetings with us. He hasn’t really got the physical work in, but mentally he’s there and as you can see in the last practice physically he’s there as well.”​

»(On looking forward to the spring game)

“We beat up on each other week after week, and I guess the spring game symbolizes that it’s the last time [we do that] for a while. So, it’ll be good. We’ll be ready for it.”

SOPHOMORE TIGHT END ETHAN WOLF

»​(On the expectations for the upcoming season)

“I love it. I’m always trying to push myself. The coaches are trying to push our team. We really have no limit. The sky’s our limit. We’re our own worst enemy. We talk about that every day. There will be a point in time where we’re going to be the ones beating ourselves. We’re trying to eliminate that now, in the spring, that way it doesn’t happen in the fall, and we can have our biggest year yet.”

»(On how much the offense has changed with Coach DeBord)

“Not at all really. Some footwork stuff here and there, his way, his technique. But really, nothing’s changed and that’s really a big for the older guys that had the time underneath the offense that these coaches brought in when they came here.”