Competition Saturday started like all the other practices do; position drills, tackling drills, stretching and warmups. But the mood shifted quickly on this crisp spring morning.
With a few hundred high school coaches and even more students in attendance for Student Appreciation Day, coach Jones made it clear that very rep mattered and score was kept in every drill as coaches worked with Team 118 to determine which side of the ball will get to wear the orange jerseys in next weeks Orange and White Game. After a very close back-and-forth battle it was the Tennessee Defense that pulled out the victory on this day after a less-than-stellar performance last weekend. Big plays were made by both sides, however, so lets hit the notes:
Quarterbacks Begin to Separate: Justin Worley took the majority of the 1st team reps at quarterback during the scrimmage, followed closely by Riley Ferguson. Worley protected the football and managed the offense well in his first series, hitting Marquez North for a 35 yard fade on his first throw to put his team in field goal range.
Fergusons first throw could not have been more devastating.
Riley rolled to his right and tried to squeeze a pass to a well covered Marquez North. Sophomore linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin snuck underneath the pass and took it 50 yards down the field for a score. Ferguson would settle in, however, and eventually hit Josh Smith in a later drive for a 25 yard touchdown that was a perfectly thrown ball to the back corner of the end zone.
Nathan Peterman and Peterman Dobbs did a very nice job of protecting the football as well in limited opportunities as it was clear that the coaches wanted to see what Ferguson and Worley could accomplish with the ones. Dobbs had a few nice runs, especially in red-zone situations near the goal line that resulted in touchdowns, and Peterman had one of his best throws on 3rd and goal from the 18 yard line when he stepped into a blitzing linebacker and delivered a strike to Josh Smith for touchdown.
If this team played tomorrow, I believe that Justin Worley would be the starter with Riley Ferguson on his heals at the #2 spot. Worley gives the steady leadership that helps calm his teammates down while Ferguson offers a bigger arm and more athleticism. If Ferguson can protect the football consistently he will beat Worley for the job, but Worley is playing a more consistent brand of football at this stage of Spring Practice.
O-Line Needs to Step Up: As expected by anyone who follows this team closely, the offensive line is struggling to replace five starters from last years team. All of the quarterbacks spent much of the time running for their lives or laying on their backs during the scrimmage. The defense recorded a sack in 4 out of the first 6 series, including back-to-back against Ferguson in his second series of the day. Curt Maggitt and Corey Vereen made quick work of anyone that coach Mahoney put in front of them at tackle, and the guards struggled to move anyone at defensive tackle out of the way in the run game. The coaches are still trying to find out which five players need to be on the field first at various positions, and this has undoubtedly hampered certain players ability to hone in on one position. As much as this group struggled on Saturday, look for them to settle into positions and their rotation over the summer and play much better in the Fall.
Youth Served at Wide Receiver: The starting receivers with the first team offense today were Josh Malone, Von Pearson, and Marquez North. While all extremely talented, they seemed to lose their focus as practice wore on. All three made nice plays early in scrimmage settings and in one-on-one drills against defensive backs, but also all dropped sure touchdowns in the Final Play drill in the red-zone. After all three dropped Game Winning red-zone touchdowns in the scrimmage setting, Butch Jones accused his wide receivers of buying into their own hype a little too much.
Credit defenders Cam Sutton and Emmanuel Moseley for causing the drops of Pearson and North with tight coverage. Malones was the most catchable ball that the youngster will learn to attack in the air instead of waiting and allowing the defender to close ground.
Running Back by Committee: Marlin Lane was back on the practice field on Saturday and got the majority of the first team reps at running back. There wasnt much room to run on this day, but Marlin did a nice job of slicing and getting the most out of each play. Devrin Young ran with the second team and some with the first team putting together another solid performance. Devrins ability to catch swing passes and beat defenders laterally will help this team as the offensive line comes along. Jalen Hurd struggled some today as the freshman never seemed to get things going on the ground. He had a few tough runs where he was able to power for extra yardage, but also had what Butch Jones Called a catastrophic fumble in the redone trying to power in from the 3 yard line.
Red Zone Woes: The final team period of the day included last second, game winning simulated plays inside the red zone. Competition Saturday was nearly deadlocked and this drill would decide who would win the day and wear orange next weekend in the Orange and White game. Worley went 0 for 4 on his attempts with the three aforementioned drops by Malone, Pearson, and North. Ferguson was next and on his first attempt scrambled outside of the pocket to avoid the rush. But instead of throwing the ball to the endzone, Ferguson ran out of bounds and ended the game without giving his team the opportunity to win it with a lob to the endzone. Butch Jones gave Ferguson a firm talking to over the microphone and then benched him in favor of Nathan Peterman. Peterman had a pass fall incomplete, one was deflected, and then Devrin Young was stopped short from the three yard line.
Play of the Day: Sophomore corner Cam Sutton only got one opportunity to return a punt in 11-on-11 work Saturday and did he ever make the best of it. Matt Darr kicked a booming punt to Suttin who fielded it over his shoulder at the 30 yard line. From there it was the Cam Sutton show as he slashed and cut-back against defenders pursuit angles multiple times and outran the punt team for a touchdown. After such a dynamic play, Id look for the coaches to strongly consider giving Sutton an opportunity to field some punts early in the season to hopefully proved a much-needed spark in the return game.
Students Join In: As practice was wrapping up, Butch Jones invited all of the students in attendance onto the field to participate in the final drill of the day. The students and players all gathered along the hashes as the kickers kicked game winners in front of their cheering peers. The kicker hit 7 of their 11 attempts as the students cheered and music blasted through the speakers at Neyland Stadium. Afterwards, Jones asked the students to join the team in their post-practice handshake and listen in as Butch Jones addressed his team. Butch then joined in on an impromptu dance party to end practice.
