Today On Rocky Top: Malone & Hurd Helping Vols Already

Sep 21, 2013; Gainesville, FL, USA; Tennessee Volunteers head coach Butch Jones high fives quarterback Justin Worley (14) after they scored a touchdown against the Florida Gators during the second half at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Florida Gators defeated the Tennessee Volunteers 31-17. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

From The Tennessean

"The newcomers to Tennessee’sfootball team are making quite a statement without speaking a word.Tennessee hasn’t made any of its early enrollees available to the media thus far in spring practice, but the first-year players already are making their presence felt. They’re the products of a signing class ranked among the top five in the nation by multiple recruiting services.Several newcomers are challenging for starting roles on a team lacking experience at key positions.“It’s where we’re at in the program,” Tennessee coach Butch Jones said. “We can’t hide it. It is what it is. But I’m encouraged by their youthfulness, their eagerness and the talent that we have and the talent we have coming in.”The newcomers getting much of the attention, due to the positions they play, are running back Jalen Hurd (Beech) and receivers Josh Malone (Station Camp) and Von Pearson. They should instantly upgrade the big-play ability of Tennessee’s offense."

From WBIR

"Senior Taylor Smart was 2-for-4 and accounted for all four of the Vols’ RBIs on Friday, but No. 25 Tennessee couldn’t hang onto a 3-0 lead as in-state SEC rival Vanderbilt scored six runs in the middle innings to take the series opener 6-4.After starting league play with a 2-1 record, Tennessee has managed just one win in its last seven SEC games to fall to 3-6. The Vols stand at 19-9 overall. The Commodores improve to 25-6 overall and 6-4 in conference action with the win. UT has lost six in a row to the ‘Dores.“I thought we took a big step forward as a team,” said head coach Dave Serrano. “It’s hard for people to understand that – we lost and we don’t want to lose to anyone, let alone our in-state rival – but I thought tonight, in a losing effort, we took a big step and I think it’s going to pay dividends for the rest of the weekend and as we move on through our schedule. I thought we did a lot more things in character. The focus and the energy were there. We just lost tonight’s game.”"

From The Times Free Press

"When Tennessee football coach Butch Jones mentioned marshmallows on a few occasions during the Volunteers’ practice Tuesday, he wasn’t talking about the puffy white clouds in the sky on a gorgeous April afternoon.Nope, he was talking about his defense.Following their performance in Saturday’s scrimmage, Tennessee’s defenders, who typically wear orange jerseys in practice, instead wore white as their offensive counterparts earned the right to wear the Vols’ primary color.And early on Tuesday, Jones let them know they looked “soft like marshmallows” in their white practice jerseys.“You’ve just got to kind of block him out,” cornerback Cam Sutton said with a grin following practice.“You hear what he’s saying, but at the end of the day you just keep rolling with it.”As the Vols enter the back half of their 15 spring practices, Jones said some players are “stepping up” while others are “tapering off,” and with reinforcements in the form of the rest of Tennessee’s touted 2014 recruiting class slated to arrive in the summer, it’s an important time for a number of players."