KNOXVILLE—The Tennessee defense took it to the offense in the team portions of practice, though the Vol quarterbacks and receivers finally started to click with each other. The Vols will return to the practice field for a situational scrimmage this Saturday, and numerous coaches pointed to that practice as a huge one in terms of assessing where the team stands on both sides of the ball. For now, here’s how each unit looked in practice No. 8.

Offense: “They [the defense] won today. We’ll come out on Saturday and fight our butts off. They beat us up today, but tomorrow is another day. It’s a snap and clear mentality. We’re not packing it in because they beat us today. We’re going to come back on Saturday and give our greatest effort,” Vol offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian said after practice.

Young runs through drills.
Photo by Reed Carringer

Though the more experienced defensive unit dominated, the offense still made clear strides in several areas. Tennessee’s receivers are without a doubt the most improved unit since the beginning of spring practice. Devrin Young, Jason Croom, and Cody Blanc worked with the first team. Young’s development throughout the spring has been drastic, and he certainly looks like the most improved player on the team. At this point, it would be a bit of a surprise if he doesn’t make a huge impact in the slot position this fall.

Paul Harris was once again stripped of his No. 1 jersey (he wore 91).The staff seems to be particularly hard on Harris, but his work ethic hasn’t been questioned. He has tremendous potential and the coaches appear to be using jerseys as one of their many motivational tools. They expect big things from him and he should have a great career at Tennessee as he continues to grasp the system.

In the backfield, Marlin Lane and Rajion Neal continue to split first team reps. They are consistently making plays on the ground and have shown the ability to make defenders miss when catching the ball in space. Throughout the spring, both Neal and Lane have demonstrated more explosiveness and physicality than we saw from them last year.

The quarterback race remains a close one and doesn’t appear to be anywhere near a resolution. Worley and Peterman have shown more consistency with each practice, but neither of them have done the things needed to establish themselves as an SEC-caliber starter. The talent is there, but they’ll have to continue to progress at a fairly quick pace before the coaches are comfortable with naming either one of them as the starter. Saturday’s scrimmage will be huge for both quarterbacks, and we will monitor them closely.

Defense: “They’re excited to be back. They’re doing things the way we’re asking them to do them,” defensive coordinator John Jancek said. “I like their mentality, I like their attitude, I like their effort. We just gotta keep pushing forward.”

For the first time this spring the defense ran a true 4-3 (they had been working on two linebacker sets previously). When in the 4-3, Marlon Walls, Daniel McCullers, Daniel Hood, and Jacques Smith composed the first team defensive line. “Our D-Line, Marlon Walls has shown some improvement up front, Corey Miller is doing some decent things,” Jancek stated after practice. While the pash rush “isn’t where it needs to be” the line is cleary progressing with each practice. It’s an experienced unit which has the potential to be the anchor for an improved defense, but the coaches will be looking for more disruption from their linemen moving forward.

“Daniel, obviously he’s a big body in there and they can’t move him, but we want to see him be disruptive. Just come off the ball and knock a guy back and make a tackle for a loss. Play in the offense’s backfield, not just on the line of scrimmage mauling people,” Jancek stated. “He’s working on it every day and getting better.”

When in three linebacker sets, A.J. Johnson, Brent Brewer, and Dontavis Sapp worked with the first team. Jancek singled out Sapp and Johnson as players which have shown steady improvement. Brewer will be a good fit once he gets more comfortable at the position (he played safety last year).

“Brent has some great athletic ability. He’s just got to become more comfortable at the linebacker position. There’s some things instinctively right now he’s kind of fighting a little bit. He’s eager, he’s willing, and he’s an athletic guy which gets him closer to the ball and helps us improve our speed which is obviously something we want to be able to do,” Jancek stated.

It appears to be a drastically quicker and more athletic unit than last year’s linebacking corps and that speed should help cut down on big plays. If Maggitt returns from an ACL injury healthy and the other starters avoid injuries, Tennessee’s front seven will be experienced and formidable.

Randolph goes through drills.
Photo by Reed Carringer

In the secondary Riyahd Jones, Justin Coleman, Byron Moore, and Brian Randolph are the leaders to earn a starting spot this fall, while LaDarrell McNeil is also in the mix.

“On our back end, Brian Randolph, you can tell that he is a sharp, smart guy. He and Byron [Moore] back there and LaDarrell [McNeil]. We just have to keep working. There are some things that we have to get better,” Jancek said.

He was quick to praise the play of Jones, “Riyahd has stepped up. I’m glad we got him. Boy, he was a big get.” If anyone wrestling a starting spot from Jones it will be an upset.

Final Take: Perhaps most encouraging at this point in spring is the continual progress of the team on both sides of the ball. Every unit has shown clear and tangible improvement. The coaches continue to push the team to be more consistent, but their work ethic is where it needs to be to realize that consistency. Check back Saturday for our report from scrimmage.

Notes: Riyahd Jones had his left hamstring wrapped and played with a clear hobble. Still, he managed to participate fully and proved to be a tough matchup even when injured. He strained his hamstring last practice but should be fine with time.

Marlin Lane returned after his absence to deal with family issues. He provided a clear boost to the offense, and his health will be vital to Tennessee’s success this year.