> The start of practice was a little relaxed, but it didn't take long for the intensity from coaches, the focus from players and the tempo all-around to pick up. Head coach
Josh Heupel gathered the team at midfield before the start of individual work and relayed a short but simple message calling for the players to lock in. Motivation can be tricky this time of year because the semester is over and campus is mostly empty outside of in-season athletes, but overall the Vols seemed pretty sharp and businesslike even though it wasn't say, game week before Alabama.
> Among the players I didn't see during the open periods of practice: Offensive lineman
Cade Mays (likely still working his way back from the ankle injury), defensive linemen
Aubrey Solomon and
Elijah Simmons and wide receiver
Kaemen Marley.
I did see wide receivers
Jalin Hyatt and
Jimmy Holiday and defensive end
Tyler Baron all present and going through drills as normal. Defensive lineman
LaTrell Bumphusalso was practicing. The players in yellow non-contact jerseys included defensive backs
Theo Jackson and
De'Shawn Ruckerand running back
Jaylen Wright.
> Freshman tight end
Trinity Bell was also in a yellow jersey, but it was good to see him running around and catching some passes in routes-on-air. The 6-foot-7, 265-pound athlete has had a long road to recovery from his knee injury he suffered nearly a year ago. Bell underwent surgery on the ACL tear in January and wasn't cleared to have any involvement in practice back in August, so he seems to be getting close to full health given that he's out there running some routes here in December.
> Tennessee's defense ran through its usual turnover circuit with six stations of three different drills. Two of those drills included deflecting or intercepting passes, whether it be defensive lineman shedding low blocks to get their hands up or players simulating coming off the edge on a blitz, but that's notable given the Vols expect to see plenty of passes against Purdue, which averages 44 pass attempts a game. The other drill was the familiar circle drill where players loop around and work the strip-sack of the quarterback dummy.
From there, the defensive linemen worked on their footwork and using their hands to fight off blockers, the linebackers drilled shedding blocks using the sled, the cornerbacks worked on their pursuit angles and the safeties focused on their coverage drops and breaking on the football.
> Offensively the quarterbacks joined the running backs for some mesh-point work before combining with the wide receivers and tight ends for routes-on-air, and the offensive line got some work on the sleds.
> No media availability after Monday's practice, but offensive coordinator and tight ends coach
Alex Golesh and select players, including quarterback
Hendon Hooker fresh off announcing his return, are scheduled to talk after Tuesday morning's practice.
