KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee football held its first spring scrimmage with a live, two-hour session on Saturday morning at Haslam Field.
It marked the end of the Volunteers’ second week of spring ball and seventh practice. Tennessee was also in pads on Friday during a weekend in which the program welcomed over 300 individuals for its coaches clinic.
Head coach Josh Heupel continues to see significant growth across the board while identifying playmakers. The Volunteers must replace senior wide receivers Velus Jones Jr. and JaVonta Payton. Junior Jalin Hyatt has made strides and caught a touchdown pass from quarterback Hendon Hooker during Saturday’s scrimmage.
“Jalin Hyatt has made a huge jump,” Heupel said. “He has a different mindset, a different focus and because of that, different work habits. He had an unbelievable offseason for strength and conditioning before we got to competing on the grass. He’s continuing to get better playing in competitive situations, understanding how to do the things that we want to do at the wide receiver position and playing without the football in his hands. He’s become a much more physical football player since he’s changed his body.”
True freshman Marquarius “Squirrel” White caught multiple passes and racked up yards after the catch that led to drives finishing with points.
“I thought Squirrel (Marquarius White) did a really good job out there today,” Heupel said. “He made multiple plays and operated really efficiently. It didn’t feel like the tempo or the game was too fast for him at any point.”
Defensively, much of the Vol secondary is recovering from injury and will be ready to go this summer. One of the emerging leaders in the group is sophomore Christian Charles.
“Christian Charles, he’s a guy inside the program that we continue to feel better and better about just because of the performance,” Heupel said. “He’s a great kid and going to be a phenomenal leader inside of our program. He’s got great work habits.”
Tennessee returns to practice on Tuesday with the first of three workouts next week.
Existing season ticket holders can renew their tickets for the 2022 football campaign now by visiting AllVols.com. Deadline for renewals is May 1. Fans wishing to purchase new season tickets can do so as well at AllVols.com or by contacting the UT Athletic Ticket Office at (865) 946-7000.
Head Coach Josh Heupel
April 2, 2022
On the difference from the scrimmages a year ago …
“I think for us, obviously we are a year further ahead than where we were in the first scrimmage a year ago. More than anything, you try to compare where you are at in each phase of your spring. I thought kids handled it. There were not a lot of issues pre-snap on both sides of the football for the most part. I thought they were efficient in the way they communicated, getting lined up, in particular on the defensive side of the football. You know, I thought our young guys actually handled the day pretty well. There were some competitive plays at the end in some competitive situations where they got to make a play and maybe didn’t do it. That comes with growth, more opportunities and learning.”
On any young players that stuck out …
“I mean, before you go watch film, I think that’s, you know, in some ways unfair. I thought Squirrel (Marquarius White) did a really good job out there today. He made multiple plays and operated really efficiently. It didn’t feel like the tempo or the game was too fast for him at any point. It was a really positive day for him.”
On how Justin Williams-Thomas can grow in the area of pass-protecting …
“It’s a point of emphasis for us as an entire offensive unit. Pass protection has got to continue to clean up. At the running back position, everybody that we have on campus has to continue to make strides in that. Going back and through self scout, I feel like that’s an area that can clean up the pocket, make us more efficient and play ahead of the chains and give us an opportunity to push the football down the field. As a young running back or any running back coming into your program, it’s one of the areas, playing without the football that all of them have to grow in. You just look at high school football and their pass protection responsibilities, what they are seeing from the other side of the football is drastically different at this level. It’s something that we work on every day at this point in spring ball and in position drills and then do some cross over, good on good, running backs, linebackers, and we throw tight ends in there too. We’ve got to continue to grow.”
On how big of an opportunity this is for Williams-Thomas, being a freshman…
“The opportunity is big for everybody. Every position is up and you got to go compete, you’ve got to earn it. It’s important, nobody in the program can rest on anything. What happened a year ago, what happened a day ago, what happened in the previous play, none of that matters. And so being able to reset, compete the right way, is something we have emphasized with our entire roster. For our young guys, it’s a great opportunity to understand what the feel, the flow, and the speed of the game actually is going to be like on game day. For them, I expect them to make huge strides from the first scrimmage to the second scrimmage just like they have since they put pads on. I felt like they’ve continued to grow every single day.”
On line of scrimmage…
“The pass protection side of it, with the ones and two’s. I feel like they did a pretty good job throughout the course of the day. It’s unfair until you go watch it. You know, some of the competitive situations, I thought the defense did a really good job of getting off of the field. When we were driving the football, a couple of third down situations where they’re able to create a stop and get off the field, maybe force a field goal.”
On the battle for left tackle …
“That left tackle position, that’s going to continue to be a battle. I said it earlier, nobody’s got a safe spot, right? There’s competition every day. The better we become as a program, the deeper your roster becomes. That competitiveness takes place at every position. I feel like those guys have made strides during our offseason. I feel like they have really made strides here over the last two or three days when we’ve gotten into full pads.”
On thoughts on the quarterbacks today …
“I thought Hendon (Hooker) did a great job throughout the course of the day. He made some really nice decisions inside of the pocket, getting through his progression in a really good way and being able to drop the football off. I thought Joe (Milton III) did some really positive things. He was able to extend some drives and make some plays. Tayven (Jackson) there were some really good things. He’s continued to progress as we’ve gone through the first six days and today being a scrimmage, there is going to be a lot of things for him at the quarterback position operationally, when it’s time to get rid of the football, not take a sack. There’s going to be some opportunities for him to really grow.”
On the cornerbacks this spring …
“We are thin right now. As we rep through the course of the day, some of those guys are having to double up with two’s and three’s reps. I feel like those guys who are getting the bulk of the reps are doing a really nice job. Christian Charles, he’s a guy inside the program that we continue to feel better and better about just because of the performance. He’s a great kid and going to be a phenomenal leader inside of our program. He’s got great work habits. He has completely added or changed his body during the offseason and the lead up to spring ball. You see him getting more and more reps and getting comfortable through that rep progression on the grass.
On returning wide receivers trying to win a starting spot …
“Jalin Hyatt has made a huge jump. He has a different mindset, a different focus and because of that, different work habits. He had an unbelievable offseason for strength and conditioning before we got to competing on the grass. He’s continuing to get better playing in competitive situations, understanding how to do the things that we want to do at the wide receiver position and playing without the football in his hands. He’s become a much more physical football player since he’s changed his body. Those two things go together hand in hand, and gaining confidence, that shows up in the way that he’s played. Jimmy Holiday has been doing some really great things as well. The competition is going to be ongoing at the wide receiver position. Those guys have got to all continue to grow.”
On how defense has affected the quarterback this spring …
“A day ago in our third down set defensively, we did a really nice job of affecting and collapsing the quarterback, winning some one on one situations. Today at times that showed up as well. Obviously, I have to go back and watch the video to see more of it, but that’s an emphasis for us, and it’s something that we’re going to have to constantly and continually grow in. We’ve got to be able to affect the quarterback. You have to be able to do that with pressure, but you have to also do it with a four-man rush. That’s something that’s got to help us as we need to grow just looking at our self scout and third-and-long package from a year ago.”
On the run game on both sides of the ball in today’s scrimmage …
“There were some big runs that popped. I didn’t think we were probably as consistent throughout the course of the game as we wanted to be. Hopefully, that’s attributed to what we are doing on the defensive side of the football. But if it’s ever one sided as we go through this thing, we’d be in trouble. I thought there was give and take on both sides of the football.”
On the linebacker position …
“A lot of guys that are back that played a ton of football last year. I thought they had a really good offseason. That strength and size is showing up. I think they’re more comfortable, have their eyes in better places on keys. They are being more efficient with their movement. They’re doing a better job of defeating blocks. Block destruction is something that’s critical for us defensively. We have to continue to grow that. That’s true for our second level players. It’s a group that has become more consistent in just their behavior off the field, in who they are and how they’re doing everything. That’s showing up in how they play too.”
On what stands out about the experienced specialists …
“I love those guys and how they’ve competed, and how they continue to grow. Paxton Brooks has put on 12 pounds during this offseason. He changed his body while continuing to keep his flexibility. He’s healthy. A year ago, he was dinged up, and that’s why he didn’t have the kickoff duties. He continues to get healthy. I expect him to have a phenomenal year. He’s extremely focused on what he wants to accomplish and where he wants to go. Chase (McGrath) has done a great job as well. We put him in a bunch of pressure kick situations. We did that a year ago too. He’s handled it, and banged it really well.”
On if Paxton Brooks is trying to win back kickoff duties …
“Yeah, for sure. He wants that job, so there’s good competition there.”
On how much of a shock tempo is to freshmen …
“The tempo is hard. They’re learning the speed of the game, and then they’re learning on top of that how the movement happens. Then they’re learning how fast the game is played from a whistle until the next snap and being able to reset, assignment, alignment and get your eyes on your keys. It happens really fast for them. It continues to slow down hopefully every single day. I think very young players because of the way we handled our offseason, being prepared for the first day, handled some things in a really positive way. The pads come on, the speed and physicality of the game changes for them. They have to adjust to that. Don’t get lost, Don’t get discouraged in the moment. This is a process that you have to go through and have great urgency in it. Be confident in who you are as a player, and how you are going to grow. The thing that I love about our young guys who come into the program, we see each and every one of them make strides from day to day. They have a long way to go, but it’s been fun seeing them work. Today was the first time coaches were truly off the field the entire time. You just got to play out on your own. I thought there were a lot of positives in the way that they handled themselves. There’s plays for them to make that they didn’t make today. It’s a part of just being comfortable and confident and playing within yourself. As the game slows down, they’ll be able to make those plays.”
On the offseason leadership program …
“If you’re going to be a leader, you have to be out in front, you have to be able to communicate, you have to be able to say things that are positive and say things that are negative. Be clear and honest in your communication. No different than coaches, we try to be in those things as well. I’ve seen them take strides. It’s unique this year in that we put some young guys in some of those roles as well where they’re kind of shadowing the older guys. I think our team connection, our team building, our leadership took a huge stride in the first several weeks. It was a point of emphasis for us. We spend every Wednesday on that. It showed up in how we practice. Coaches are going to constantly coach and seek out everything. What’s been fun with this group is that sometimes, as a coach, you can’t get to the player before a teammate is getting with that player and correcting him too. The ownership has to happen from within. Championship seasons happen because there’s leadership at a championship level from within, and it’s got to be player driven. Our guys are starting to take more ownership in that.”
On young players stepping up in leadership roles …
“The young guys are just continuing to grow into those things. I think you’re trying to build it from the bottom up, not just to the top level. Our daily habits have dramatically and greatly improved, obviously from where we were a year ago, but in most ways from where we finished the season too. All those things play into who we are, and how we grow as a football family.”
Volunteers Complete Second Week of Spring Ball, First Scrimmage
