Vols Spring Practice #9

[Fingers]

The Tennessee football team was back out on the practice field Wednesday morning ahead of Thursday’s second scrimmage of the spring period. Shells was the attire of the day as the contact was scaled back a bit in order to keep the team as fresh as it could be before tomorrow.

With Ollie Lane sidelined, Jackson Lampley and Andre Karic are the next guards up in line with the ones, along with JaVontez Spraggins of course. Parker Ball, Addison Nichols and Vysen Lang continue to get reps at center while Cooper Mays remains sidelined.

We feel good about where John Campbell is right now at left tackle, but right tackle and left guard still needs figuring out and the guy who has been running with the ones at left guard was not practicing on Wednesday

The routes on air part of practice looked pretty sharp. Joe Milton was throwing on a line, completing passes to Dont’e Thornton on outs and a couple of Chas Nimrod on skinny posts. Nico Iamaleava probably had his best and most consistent day throwing the football that we have seen so far during the open media periods. Earlier right after stretching, the quarterbacks were getting some work in with the running backs. They would motion the running back out wide and then the tailbacks would go run routes. Dylan Sampson looked most comfortable in the drill while Cameron Seldon looked natural as well.

. Jaylen McCollough and Wesley Walker were the first two up at safety while Tamarion McDonald was first up at STAR.

The corners were repping open-field tackling before coming together with Martinez to walk through some coverages. Gabe Jeaudy-Lally and Doneilko Slaughter appeared to be leading this group with Kamal Hadden right there a well.

Elijah Simmons looked good when we saw him doing this today.

e.cain

Tennessee’s running backs started the day by working on route running and particularly motioning out wide before running curl routes. Seldon — who could still end up at receiver — was unsurprisingly really impressive in the work. A bigger surprise was how impressive freshman DeSean Bishop was. He looked solid running the routes and showed some strong hands on a couple catches.

With White, Keyton and McCoy limited out on the practice field it was a thin receiver room for routes on air. Transfer Dont’e Thornton and sophomores Kaleb Webb and Chas Nimrod led the way for the Vols receivers. Thornton continues to be really impressive. His size and speed is well documented but he looked quite crisp running routes. It’s hard to draw any real conclusions without seeing more competitive reps but it’s hard to imagine him not having a large role this fall.

Freshman Nathan Leacock was getting plenty of hands on coaching from receiver’s coach Kelsey Pope. Pope was emphasizing the details and playing some short press coverage against Leacock on his routes.

Speaking of coaching, Josh Heupel was watching the routes on air period keenly and was coaching up Joe Milton between reps. Milton had a really strong day and led a crisp routes on air portion. After a handful of strong open periods in a row, Nico Iamaleava had some accuracy issues Wednesday morning.

Redshirt freshman Christian Harrison was working with corners today after spending most of fall with the safeties.

Tyler Baron and Dominic Bailey were leading the way for drills with the defensive lineman. Bailey has been impressive this spring and is looking to become an impact defender in his redshirt junior season after earning a consistent role last season.

r.schumpert

We’ll start in the backfield, where freshmen Seldon and DeSean Bishop are getting a lot of focus with Jerry Mack in their drill work. Dylan Sampson wants to stake more of a claim to playing time as a sophomore – well, he’s getting a long look as the top guy with Wright and Jabari Small not practicing. Sampson had a good scrimmage as did Bishop last week, and the coaches will want to see them stack another good performance on top of it on Thursday.

The routes-on-air period was really sharp despite the absences at wideout. Quarterbacks Joe Milton III and Nico Iamaleava were sharp and accurate – there’s a noticeable drop-off when someone else is throwing. Thornton, who should be able to scrimmage on Thursday after he was held out on Saturday, couldn’t catch one slant on the stretch, but otherwise the footballs were on target and caught.

Without Mays, redshirt freshman Addison Nichols and freshman Vysen Lang continue to get valuable work at center. The offensive line spent one period with the guards and centers working double teams and the tackles drilling their own techniques, then there was some right- and left-side work. Mays is the leader of that group, but in his absence others are stepping up – Javontez Spraggins was pretty demonstrative in coaching up junior college transfer Larry Johnson III after one rep during the right guard/right tackle work.

The tight ends were involved in routes-on-air for a period with Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles looking sharp as pass-catchers and route-runners before Alec Abeln got his guys acquainted with the one-man blocking sled.

Tennessee great and two-time former Vols assistant Jay Graham was in attendance watching practice.

p.brown

 

[TheMagnificantOne]

 

[NighthawkVol]

Some contradictory opinions on Nico’s day.

 

[K-town Vol Fan]

Jay Graham you say?? Hmm

 

[Vfl2407]

Jay Graham you say?? Hmm

Is he not coaching anywhere right now?

 

[Frosty]

Great work as always, Fingers! Appreciate the information.

 

[Sara Clark]

Thank you for posting these updates. We can't tell you enough how much we appreciate your time in doing this for VolNation.

 

[OptimusPrimerib]

Is he not coaching anywhere right now?

 

[sonofUT62]

Having Graham around makes me feel like we aren’t worried about the AA. That’s basically giving them the middle finger.

 

[barrylee]

Do these guys watch the same session? Nico had real accuracy issues to one guy, the other two saw stellar play from Nico and Joe..

 

[volinexile17]

Having Graham around makes me feel like we aren’t worried about the AA. That’s basically giving them the middle finger.

Don’t think Graham was really caught up in the Pruitt nonsense. He quit coaching because of anxiety issues. Would be cool to see him back at UT in a quality control role or something where he doesn’t necessarily have the same pressure and time commitment as an assistant coach.

 

[sonofUT62]

Don’t think Graham was really caught up in the Pruitt nonsense. He quit coaching because of anxiety issues. Would be cool to see him back at UT in a quality control role or something where he doesn’t necessarily have the same pressure and time commitment as an assistant coach.

He has a history. This isn’t his first rodeo. He was already on the double secret probation when he got here due to stuff under Jimbo. I love him and he’s a VFL, but again his presence here indicates that we aren’t really sweating the NCAA right now.

 

[sonofUT62]

He has a history. This isn’t his first rodeo. He was already on the double secret probation when he got here due to stuff under Jimbo. I love him and he’s a VFL, but again his presence here indicates that we aren’t really sweating the NCAA right now.

 

[joevol33]

Thanks again Fingers

 

[volinexile17]

He has a history. This isn’t his first rodeo. He was already on the double secret probation when he got here due to stuff under Jimbo. I love him and he’s a VFL, but again his presence here indicates that we aren’t really sweating the NCAA right now.

I don’t think a former player and coach who lives in Knoxville attending practice means anything about the NCAA. JMO.

If we hired him again, that is maybe a different story.

 

[butchna]

Don’t think Graham was really caught up in the Pruitt nonsense. He quit coaching because of anxiety issues. Would be cool to see him back at UT in a quality control role or something where he doesn’t necessarily have the same pressure and time commitment as an assistant coach.

Love the guy and wanted him to be part of the program both times he was hired, but twice bitten…

 

[sonofUT62]

I don’t think a former player and coach who lives in Knoxville attending practice means anything about the NCAA. JMO.

If we hired him again, that is maybe a different story.

He’s been hit with a show cause at another school and was on staff here under a coach that’s currently under investigation. If we’re not good with the AA then having him here is playing with fire and Heupel and White aren’t stupid. JMO.

 

[WillisWG]

As has been the case for much of drill work this spring, defensive coordinator Tim Banks spent extended time with Tennessee’s safeties while defensive back coach Willie Martinez worked with cornerbacks. Both safeties and corners were working on coverage fundamentals and handoffs in zone coverage.

Redshirt freshman Christian Harrison was working with corners today after spending most of fall with the safeties. Harrison is the son of NFL legend Rodney Harrison and is trying to break into a larger role this season.

Tennessee Spring Practice Notes And Observations: April 5 | Rocky Top Insider

 

[Mccage]

Do these guys watch the same session? Nico had real accuracy issues to one guy, the other two saw stellar play from Nico and Joe..

One is a recuperating neg. He's stil in therapy

 

[sechamp2012]

Did Dayne Davis graduate haven’t seen a mention of him this Spring?

 

[WillisWG]

He’s been hit with a show cause at another school and was on staff here under a coach that’s currently under investigation. If we’re not good with the AA then having him here is playing with fire and Heupel and White aren’t stupid. JMO.

Kinda of a nothing burger.

According to the NCAA Committee on Infractions, the show-cause for Graham includes “a previously served nine-day ban on phone calls, emails, or texts with prospects in January 2020; a reduction in off-campus recruiting contact days by three for the December 2019 through January 2020 contact period; a ban on all off-campus recruiting activities for the fall 2020 contact period; and additional one-on-one rules education.” Fisher has been served with the same penalties.

Tennessee Issues Statement on Jay Graham Show-Cause | RTI

 

[miket4god]

Did Dayne Davis graduate haven’t seen a mention of him this Spring?

No he's still around

 

[WillisWG]

Did Dayne Davis graduate haven’t seen a mention of him this Spring?

Offseason Outlook: More than replacing two starters on to-do list for Tennessee’s O-line

Campbell was Miami’s starting left tackle last season and his addition creates an interesting dynamic, because he and Mincey are primarily left tackles – does one flip to right tackle and get a full offseason to settle in there or are they battling head-to-head for the left tackle job? Crawford and Davis have played right tackle, so their adjustment would be easier. Karic played both right and left tackle at Texas, but could kick inside to guard at Tennessee – his potential versatility opens up options for him and Elarbee and gives the Vols needed flexibility.

 

[NighthawkVol]

Offseason Outlook: More than replacing two starters on to-do list for Tennessee’s O-line

Campbell was Miami’s starting left tackle last season and his addition creates an interesting dynamic, because he and Mincey are primarily left tackles – does one flip to right tackle and get a full offseason to settle in there or are they battling head-to-head for the left tackle job? Crawford and Davis have played right tackle, so their adjustment would be easier. Karic played both right and left tackle at Texas, but could kick inside to guard at Tennessee – his potential versatility opens up options for him and Elarbee and gives the Vols needed flexibility.

I've always thought Crawford was more of a RT anyway. As for Mincey, going from Left to Right should be easier than going Right to Left.

 

[butchna]

Had it set in my mind that Campbell was the replacement at RT and Mincey/Crawford would continue to man the blind side. Campbell with Umarov backing him up sounds more well thought out and LJIII can learn at his own pace to eventually take over the strong side.