Vols Fall Practice #7

[Fingers]

Tennessee was much closer to full strength on the offensive side of the ball Wednesday. Some of its top receivers have been in-and-out of the open portion of practices over the last few days but that wasn’t the case. Bru McCoy, Squirrel White and Dont’e Thornton were all fully dressed out and full participants during the routes on air portion of practice.

Center Cooper Mays was not out there for the open portion of practice for the third straight day. The senior is extremely important to Tennessee’s offensive line and his absence early in camp adds an emphasis to the need to find his back up.

As we noted Tuesday, Ollie Lane— who appears to be the favorite to start at left guard— slid to first team center during drills with Texas transfer Andrej Karic working at left guard beside John Campbell.

It wasn’t a very sharp routes on air session Wednesday. Not that it was horrible but there were more balls hitting the ground than a normal. Kaleb Webb, Chas Nimrod and Emmanuel Okoye all had drops. It’s still clearly an adjustment for Okoye on the offensive side of the ball. The freshman tight end has steadily improved his pass catching over the first week of practice but still doesn’t look super fluid or comfortable doing so.

While it wasn’t a super efficient routes on air day, Joe Milton III and Tennessee’s starting receivers were still in a solid rhythm with less incompletions from them than any other group.

The play of the open period was redshirt senior receiver Michael Bittner hauling in a one-handed catch from Gaston Moore on a fade route.

Veteran defensive backs Wesley Walker and Tamarion McDonald were both fully dressed out but remained in the indoor facility to work off to the side while the rest of the defense moved outside.

Same was the case for Arizona State defensive tackle Omarr Norman-Lott. Rodney Garner called Norman-Lott an “upgrade” Tuesday and he’s an impressive looking player. Him staying inside to work was the first sign of injury from him during camp.

One room that remains completely healthy for Tennessee is inside linebacker where Aaron Beasley, Keenan Pili, Elijah Herring and Arion Carter have been full-go all camp. That group worked on some pass defense basics and catching interceptions. Somewhat surprisingly there were very few drops from the group.

One note there is that sophomore Christian Harrison was working with the corners during the drills. Entering his second year in the Tennessee program, I’ve only ever seen Harrison work with the safeties.

r.schumpert

Not much has changed on this front since yesterday. Cooper Mays remains extremely limited this week and was not out on the field while the media was present. We would be surprised, frankly, if he plays in the scrimmage tomorrow. Three weeks from now is much more important for a guy like Mays compared to a preseason intrasquad scrimmage.

Jourdan Thomas is not 100 percent coming off knee surgery in the spring. Defensive lineman Omar Norman-Lott was one of the guys who got ‘banged up’ yesterday that Rodney Garner was alluding to. Nothing serious as he was dressed in full pads but remained inside during individual periods. Freshman Trevor Duncan has also been limited the past two days.

With Cooper Mays sidelined, Ollie Lane has slid over and joined the conversation at center. Lane is still very much in the conversation at left guard – maybe the leader in fact at this current time – but the need for some quality reps at center was vital this week as Mays is sidelined. Lane has taken reps at center with the twos and threes his entire Tennessee career though he is a guard by nature. Addison Nichols, Vysen Lang and Parker Ball continue to work at the position as well.

The quarterbacks and wide receivers / tight ends were taking part in routes on air from the 10-yard line into the end zone in the final period of individual. Joe Milton’s accuracy has been on point thus far in camp, at least while the media has been present. Throughout his career, accuracy has also been his downfall but last year was his best according to the stats and in limited time. He’s looked good in that regard so far. Ramel Keyton made a nice catch in the back of the end zone on a slant and had a nice toe-tap to stay in bounds. Squirrel White caught a nice fade in the back-corner of the end zone to stay in bounds as well.

Nico Iamaleava had some nice throws during the drill. He missed high on a few which is normal for young quarterbacks – especially when they are making it difficult to throw with pads in the eyesight. Receivers also dropped a few of Nico’s throws in the session as well.

The running backs and quarterbacks were practicing speed-option at the beginning of the day. Milton looked comfortable in the drill as he’s done it a time or two over his five years in college. Nico looked fine as well, though his pitches weren’t as fluid as Milton’s.

Andre Turrentine is getting more reps than he ever has likely and it’s a great opportunity for him to show what he can do and earn some type of a role for the season when Wesley Walker, Jaylen McCollough and Tamarion McDonald are all available and at full strength. He’s carrying himself with a little more confidence this week.

We will be intrigued to see who gets what reps with what groups come tomorrow as the competition between Doneiko Slaughter, Kamal Hadden, Warren Burrell (who has also cross trained), Brandon Turnage and Gabe Jeudy-Lally rolls on.

e.cain

Dont’e Thornton Jr. was out there after we didn’t see him on Tuesday, but it looked like ran a route or two and then was watching for the most part.

Freshman tight end Ethan Davis was out there for routes-on-air, but it didn’t look like he did much so he appears still to be limited.

The Vols remain shorthanded in the secondary and could be for a little while. We’ve heard safety Wesley Walker is dealing with a hamstring pull and Star Tamarion McDonald has a couple of nagging things. Tennessee is playing it safe with sophomore safety Jourdan Thomas after his post-spring knee surgery.

With the wideouts closer to full strength, the first three up were Bru McCoy, Ramel Keyton and Dont’e Thornton Jr. (then Squirrel White when Thornton became more of an observer). Next up were Chas Nimrod and Kaleb Webb outside with Nathan Leacock running third in his line and fellow freshman Nate Spillman running fourth in his behind walk-on Trey Weary.

Joe Milton III looked to be on point with most of his throws, though a couple were too hot for McCoy and White to handle. The placement could have been better on some of his touch throws to the corner of the end zone, but it’s hard to gauge sometimes where those should guy with no defender – sometimes he’ll need to throw to the pylon and other times the back shoulder will be the more applicable target.

Freshman Nico Iamaleava was sharp for the most part on his middle-field throws, but a couple to the corner of the end zone sailed a little bit on him and he didn’t really give his guys a chance to make a play in bounds.

Catch of the day went to walk-on tight end Cody Duncan, a transfer from Virginia Tech and the older brother of freshman defensive lineman Trevor Duncan – a one-handed snag in the corner of the end zone.

White also had a nice toe-tapping catch in the corner. Keyton was unable to get a foot down on a wider throw from Milton. Tight end Jacob Warren again looks to be smooth on his routes and sure-handed catching the football.

Freshman Emmanuel Okoye sometimes looks like he could be a real player at tight end, and then other moments it’s clear he has a long way to go. On one rep on Wednesday – again, it’s just one rep – he looked labored coming out of his break and then had the football go through his hands. He’s still figuring things out, but has to improve his hands if he’s going to stick long-term on offense

Gerald Mincey continued to rep only at left tackle behind Campbell in what we saw with Jeremiah Crawford and Dayne Davis over at right tackle.

We also can throw Jackson Lampley into the fray at left guard – he was getting some reps there in individual work on Wednesday.

Jaylen McCollough and Andre Turrentine continue to lead the safety group with a couple of other veterans limited with injuries. Warren Burrell continued to get work at Star and lined up with the rest of the safeties for this drill. That looks to be more than just a stopgap or temporary thing – it’s a real contingency plan the Vols are exploring at this point of camp.

p.brown

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

FIRST!

 

[Chrispkreme]

2

 

[Hurley Mooncalf]

Thanks, Fingers!

 

[Brave Volunteer]

2

 

[Chrispkreme]

Hate to see it lol.

 

[cherokeeeVOL]

Glad to hear Squirrel's back out there

 

[USCGVOL]

First page!

 

[FBtime]

One thing I have learned from these practice videos...we have HARD working support staff! They are helping run almost if not every single drill.

 

[WillisWG]

Yep, thanks Fingers!

Two weeks: Vol Calls - University of Tennessee Athletics (utsports.com)

 

[Enki_Amenra]

 

[smokeycoonhoundUT]

Thanks for posting these!

 

[SayUWantAreVOLution]

One thing I have learned from these practice videos...we have HARD working support staff! They are helping run almost if not every single drill.

Yeah, with the thread about what Cooper Mays eats, I want to see how much Coach G, Coach J-M, and Coach Eckler put away to be able to keep up with these young men. I'd need an IV (if not an AED) after practice.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

r.schumpert









e.cain











p.brown

Thank you Phangers!

 

[lexkyvol]

ive been critical of McCullough's coverage abilities and it has been valid, but i sure hope he improves leaps and bounds with it

 

[TAF]

NO STUPID FALL CAMP/SCRIMMAGE INJURIES TOMORROW, BOYS!!!!!

 

[sjt18]

The OL has some athletes. Umarov looks good. Grant stood out to me as a guy who moves really well. Anxious to see how it all shakes out. I may be the fool but feel much better about the OL than most others seem to.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

The OL has some athletes. Umarov looks good. Grant stood out to me as a guy who moves really well. Anxious to see how it all shakes out. I may be the fool but feel much better about the OL than most others seem to.

I am right there with you. Do you remember the OL Heupel inherited his first season on the job? We were beyond paper thin. If he had this OL in 2021, we would have went 9-3 easily with this depth.

 

[VolInDayton]

It's nice having some of the experience at corner and Safety, but I'm hoping some of these younger guys start stepping up. The experience is nice for depth but we need some difference makers at these positions.

 

[butchna]

I am right there with you. Do you remember the OL Heupel inherited his first season on the job? We were beyond paper thin. If he had this OL in 2021, we would have went 9-3 easily with this depth.

That first OL was always going to be the worst performing…regardless of talent. It was remarkable how well they performed considering the constricted timetable they had to learn how to run at breakneck speed from play to play. It’s why every season they get better. Older players pass it down. I’ve never been a fan of Ollie Lane’s skillset, but he’s the perfect example of that dynamic.

 

[The Original Fade]

First 4 WRs are unquestionably McCoy, White, Keyton, and Thornton. Who are the next 2? Webb and Nimrod? Leacock?

 

[PEPPERJAX]

First 4 WRs are unquestionably McCoy, White, Keyton, and Thornton. Who are the next 2? Webb and Nimrod? Leacock?

Webb and Nimrod would be my guess.

 

[titansvolsfaninga]

ive been critical of McCullough's coverage abilities and it has been valid, but i sure hope he improves leaps and bounds with it

You have to wonder if playing next to Flowers negatively affected his play as well.

 

[VOLfrombama]

The OL has some athletes. Umarov looks good. Grant stood out to me as a guy who moves really well. Anxious to see how it all shakes out. I may be the fool but feel much better about the OL than most others seem to.

You aren't a fool. Numerous people were bad-mouthing the OL during camp season. In fact, they had some pretty poor showings at the beginning of the year. Lots of folks were bad-mouthing the WR room last year too. I don't remember anyone picking Hyatt or Wright to have a breakout season like they did.

It also looks like the D should be much improved. Front 7 could be legit. I will probably get flamed for this, but Hadden looks bigger, stronger, and is taking reps with the 1s in practice alongside Slaughter. It also sounds like Turrentine is stepping up too. TMac and Walker were really good at time last season. If this secondary can turn the corner, look out.

 

[LittleVol]

You have to wonder if playing next to Flowers negatively affected his play as well.

I'm not sure how you could attribute Flowers to his personal bad open field tackling.
McCullough has always been a practice warrior.

Luckily now we have guys that can go in for him and at the very least duplicate his play