Vols Fall Practice #4

[Fingers]

Squirrel was stretching and with the team but did not run any routes in the time that we were allowed to view practice. Also didn't see Bru running routes.

Wesley Walker was not with the safeties. Could have been elsewhere on the field but we couldn't find him if he was.

WR coach Kelsey Pope was happy with his guys. "Looks like ya'll have been practicing."

McCollough a clear leader in the safety room. Was coaching up freshman Jack Luttrell.

Heupel spent a lot of time with QBs today.

Joe was on the MONEY today. Super accurate. Didn't see a bad ball from him.

Nico was really solid. Not as clean as Joe but still impressive.

r.sylvia

Tennessee’s quarterbacks and running backs worked on RPOs at the beginning of practice. A grad assistant played defensive end forcing the quarterbacks to make a live read. Jabari Small led the way for running backs in the drill followed by Jaylen Wright, Dylan Sampson, Cam Seldon and DeSean Bishop.

This isn’t exactly new information as he was here in the spring but add Seldon to the list of Vol freshmen that physically look like an upper class-men.

Some really good reps from Jabari Small and tight end Charlie Browder stood out. Raw freshman Emmanuel Okoye was picking things up quickly and performed well himself.

On to the routes on air portion of practice. It was probably the best routes on air portion of practice we’ve seen here in early August. Both Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava were on time and accurate with the football.

Dont’e Thornton made a nice leaping catch on a pass over the middle and continues to impress. The 6-foot-5 speedster is coming into his own after getting here in the spring and could be poised for a big season.

The only absences I noted were safety Wesley Walker and STAR Tamarion McDonald. Walker wasn’t working with the Vols’ safeties and I couldn’t spot him across the field working with corners— though I can’t say it’s impossible that he could have been. The same goes for McDonald. The STAR spot usually drills with the safeties and he wasn’t there. It’s possible he was on the other side of the field with the corners but I didn’t spot him.

With Walker absent, McCollough led the way in reps followed by Jourdan Thomas, Andre Turrentine, Christian Charles and the rest of the group.

Back to the inside linebacker blitzing drill. Jean-Mary was not pleased with his group during the drill. Freshman Arion Carter and sophomore Elijah Herring each got an earful from their position coach during the drill. For Carter, it was multiple earfuls as he had multiple poor reps.

As previously stated, the tight ends and running backs definitely came out ahead on the drill. However, Aaron Beasley did have multiple strong reps and was, unsurprisingly, the best of the linebackers in the drill.

r.schumpert

First and foremost, there’s an art to the way Keenan Pili was going about his business. You can tell he’s done this for years at the collegiate level. Every rep he took, he was under control and had a plan of attack – whether that be planting the inside foot for an outside move, spin move, swim move or some other pass-rushing technique. Pili won nearly every rep he took in the drill, besting Jabari Small on a couple of occasions. Of note (and I’ll mention it again here in a minute), Small had a great day in the drill, too).

Aaron Beasley looked polished as well coming off the edge. He utilized his speed to bait the blocker one way before changing directions in a hurry and dipping under the attempted block. He won two of his three reps while Dylan Sampson stuffed him once.

Back to Small, it’s wild how far he has come in pass pro since his freshman season. He still has a ways to go, but you can tell that he and the others have put an emphasis on improving that aspect of the game. The senior running back was probably the most impressive of the day, losing twice to Pili but winning every other rep he took. He also won a matchup over Pili and Beasley on the day. Small showcased a low center of gravity, good feet and recoiled well after initially making contact.

Jacob Warren held up against Kalib Perry in impressive fashion. Jaylen Wright absolutely stuffed Arion Carter on one of his attempts. The freshman tried to overpower Wright with his strength and the running back didn’t budge. Was really impressive. Elijah Herring won a matchup over McCallan Castles but was later taking some critisism from Brian Jean-Mary for being out of control. He got a tad banged up on one play and had to go off to the side. But he was right back in there shortly thereafter.

Addison Nichols has been with just the centers. Now, we believe he’s getting some work at left guard in some team portions, but while we are out there, he’s just been work with the centers (Cooper Mays, Parker Ball & Vysen Lang).

oe Milton connected on most of his passes while we were out there – one over the middle on a deep post to Dont’e Thornton that looked good. Ramel Keyton made a nice catch on a dig route and Chaz Nimrod was receiving some praise from Kelsey Pope for his route running. The period outside of that was pretty inconsistent with the other groups. Nimrod, who did some nice things, also dropped a pair of passes. Nico Iamaleava missed high on some throws (which is normal for young quarterbacks early in camp).

Wesley Walker continues to look good early in camp and Christian Charles looks more at home working with the safeties. Kamal Hadden physically has always been one of the more impressive players in the room. He’s been at the front of lines and an encouraging voice this week, which is a step in the right direction.

Aaron Beasley and Keenan Pili continue to drill the best as they know how to do the little things correctly at the position. Some young guys like Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander look good but are still learning some of the basics of the position at this level. That’s wat camp is for.

e.cain

It also looked like wide receiver Bru McCoy headed inside at one point during routes-on-air. Wearing a sleeve on his left leg, McCoy went through individual drills normally and ran a couple of routes. Then he talked to a trainer and briskly headed inside.

Wide receiver Squirrel White and freshman wideout Nathan Leacock continue to be limited.

The star of this period easily was Jaylen Wright. The junior running back was impenetrable on his three reps, stymying Elijah Herring, Arion Carter and Keenan Pili with a strong base, good technique and fearlessness. Wright hasn’t always been the best pass-blocker and it’s been a process for him, but on this evidence he looks to be at a different level right now.

Tight end Jacob Warren also was excellent in this period, as you might expect. Tennessee really doesn’t ask its tight ends to pass-block too often outside of the occasional max-protect shot play. But Warren can do it because he can do whatever the Vols need him to do.

Jean-Mary was perhaps the most fired-up after a Carter rep against Ethan Davis. The freshman tight end might have drawn a holding penalty in a real game, but from Jean-Mary’s standpoint that shouldn’t have deterred Carter as much as it did. He wanted the freshman fighting through it to make the play.

Pili backed up Jean-Mary’s words from Friday that he’s not just a run-stopping thumper, showing an ability to bend, reduce and elude blockers. He was able to get around one back to get the quarterback off the spot and later ran through Hunter Salmon. The 6-foot-3, 240-pounder is a hoss coming off the edge and opposing running backs will have to be fearless to take him on.

Aaron Beasley, as you might expect, was a tough matchup for Tennessee’s backs and tight ends. He opened the period with a win and finished it with a sweet rip move to get free of Jabari Small and get to the quarterback. The running back to have the best rep against him was Dylan Sampson.

Small and tight end McCallan Castles were beaten initially on their reps as the linebacker moved the quarterback off his spot, but the two veterans recovered and got back on their blitzers to keep them off the quarterback.

Elijah Herring had an up-and-down period. An edge rusher in high school, the sophomore couldn’t get past Wright to start the drill, then was able to duck under Castles and get a pressure. His final rep ended in some frustration – he basically ran over freshman Khalifa Keith and was shaken up a little bit as Jean-Mary was animatedly on him to be more under control, and Herring walked off and slammed his helmet to the ground and tossed his mouthpiece Stephen Curry-style before a trainer came over to check with him.

p.brown

 

[TheMagnificantOne]

 

[kiddiedoc]

Thanks, as always!

 

[TheVolsFrog]

Dang it kiddiedoc. You broke my second streak lol
GBO

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

 

[kiddiedoc]

Dang it kiddiedoc. You broke my second streak lol
GBO

LOL. I'm trying to shake a nasty head cold and am basically scrolling and half-watching golf.

GBO

 

[legioncat]

Thank you. Great stuff

 

[joevol33]

Thanks Fingers

 

[KoachKrab127]

Very encouraging about Milton’s accuracy. I hope that carries over into games consistently.

I hope nothing’s wrong with Bru and it’s just precautionary.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Thanks phangers!

 

[HalfullVol]

Here
We
Go!

 

[WillisWG]

5* Coaching has helped Wright. You have to like what we're hearing about our RBs.

 

[The Original Fade]

Gonna say it here. Seldon will be the star of the future for Tennessee.

 

[WillisWG]

Joshua Josephs Credits Former Vol Great for Summer Training | Rocky Top Insider

Ayers hire paying off

 

[NCVolintheTriad]

Go Vols!

 

[Enki_Amenra]

Thanks Fingers

TWSS

 

[Freak]

 

[VFL 89]

Thanks for sharing Fingers and Freak! Hoping for a magical season full of little surprises and some big victories.

 

[Preyed_On]

Good news on improved blitz pickup from the RB’s. Sounds like Jabari and Jalen been hitting the squat rack extra hard this summer.

 

[GreyWolf1129]

Smells like...Victory.

Go Vols.

 

[AstonRoyal]

Sounds like linebackers had a frustrating day

 

[HighRockvol]

Not much longer

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

Very encouraging about Milton’s accuracy. I hope that carries over into games consistently.

I hope nothing’s wrong with Bru and it’s just precautionary.

Same with Squirrel.

 

[TJSVOLS]

Sounds like linebackers had a frustrating day

Just the young ones.

 

[basspond]

Sounds like all the media present is drinking the Orange Kool-aid. The difference from in the past, is that it's the real stuff. It's going to be a fun year. The game has slowed down for Milton and the cupboard is stacked to the ceiling at RB.