The Tennessee Volunteers spring practice wrapped up on Saturday and Butch Jones has delivered yet again. Jones is proving to be more program builder than anything else at Tennessee. Jones’ goal for spring practice was comparably low-key; the team focused on learning the playbook and staying healthy – or, more appropriately, staying less injured. The Vols come out of the spring practice session looking the part of a program on the rise.
Tennessee Volunteers Spring Practice Recap
This weekend’s Orange and White game gave fans a glimpse into Jones practice style. Constant direction from the microphone, constant competition, and constant movement are the most notable traits of a Jones practice and Saturday’s intra-squad scrimmage was no different. At one point, early enrollee freshman quarterback Quinten Dormady looked sharp on a precision passing drill. This, of course, was met by a challenge from Jones to starting quarterback Joshua Dobbs. Dobbs meet the challenge by besting the freshman in the drill and then promptly shooshed Coach Jones. The scrimmage was interlaced with five practice drills, including the standard-bearer “Circle of Life” drill to open things up.
The absolute best news for the Vols coming out of the Orange and White game was the absence of any significant injuries during the spring session. There were many players who missed significant time during spring practice due to injuries, including almost the entire expectant starting defensive front seven and returning tailback Jalen Hurd, but no one suffered a significant injury during the spring session. The injured players even held their own playbook practices offset from the on-the-field action, going over formations and situations. A better understanding of the fast-paced offense should benefit the Vols coming into the fall. The one noticeable loss for the Vols was rising senior wide receiver Von Pearson, who was indefinitely suspended following a sexual assault allegation and investigation.
Another story coming out of the scrimmage was the performance of some of the ten early enrollee freshmen. Dormady and Jauan Jennings, another freshmen quarterback, both had solid performances in the scrimmage. Dormady’s passing was noticeably sharp, and Jennings had several long runs. They will welcome a third freshman quarterback this summer when Sheriron Jones arrives from California. Alvin Kamara, the junior college transfer, flashed some of speed during the game and has fans excited about a one-two combination of Hurd and himself in the backfield this season. On the defensive side, linemen Shy Tuttle and Andrew Butcher also had a productive spring practice and looked good in the scrimmage.
Johnathon Johnson, playing with the first team in Pearson’s absence, was another unexpected stand-out performer on Saturday. The good news for the coaching staff is that almost every player has shown demonstrable progress from last season to this spring. Saturday showed that Jones continues to have the Vols football program trending upward.
The coaches still have some work to do. As much potential as Joshua Dobbs has, he probably needs to be more consistent on his passing, particular the short timing routes crucial to moving the chains. They will have to figure out their running back rotation, and will have to do it with only three scholarship backs, one of which still isn’t on campus. And they will have to get everyone healthy and back in practice. This is particularly important for the defense, that had several linemen and linebackers out for the spring.
But the scrimmage was just one of the practices for the spring session. Jones spaced the practices out over a month and over that month we learned a little bit more about the health of the program.
Pearson’s suspension is another distraction for Jones who – even while improving academics and discipline issues – has had to deal with several off-field incidents. Two players were indicted for rape this spring following events after last season’s Kentucky game and several players have transferred over the off-season. With Pearson’s suspension, that makes at least a dozen Vols to leave the program either by suspension or transfer since November of last year. While no one is criticizing the climate around the program, this seems to be the one area where the Vols can’t seem to build positive momentum.
While the discipline issues have some concerned, the transfers aren’t getting much attention because Jones continues to close the talent gap by bringing in top recruits. Tennessee was able to gain commitments from consensus four-star and national top-ten rated quarterback Jarrett Guarantano and Brodarious Hamm, an offensive tackle whose 6’, 5”, 320 lb. not-even-a-senior-in-high-school frame should help out a quickly improving offensive line. And yes, for those of you keeping track, that’s four four-star rated quarterbacks Jones will have on the roster under Dobbs as he enters his senior season in 2016. Guarantano’s commitment is significant because he is from New Jersey, and this presents an opportunity for the Vols recruiting staff to extend their influence into a non-traditional Tennessee recruiting area, one of Jones’ recruiting emphasis points.
So the Vols have come out of spring smarter and no more worse for wear than they started. They seem to have added a little depth with some incoming talent. And it seems as though the staff is pleased with the progress. In the end, the only question is whether these spring showers of progress turn into the fall flowers of wins.
Main Photo by Donald Page/Tennessee Athletics
