Notes from Vols’ 12th Fall Practice

Vols head coach Butch Jones observes his players during a drill Tuesday afternoon. PHOTO: Nathanael Rutherford

After a two-a-day yesterday, the Vols returned outside to Haslam field for only one practice this afternoon, but it was one of the more productive ones the media was allowed to see.

After stretches today, Butch Jones once again broke out the “Circle of Life” drill for his team, but this time it had a twist. Jones addressed the team and said, “The travel team only has room for one Berry, so Evan and Elliot, you’re up!” Evan and Elliot Berry then proceeded to face off to a draw.

Elliot was then challenged two more times, going up against defensive back Geraldo Orta and linebacker Justin King.

Among the observers at today’s practice was a scout from the Seattle Seahawks. A few VFL’s were also at practice, most notably Richie Gandy.

The afternoon practice today was a busy one, and here are some notes from what we saw:

• Right after the Circle of Life, Jones had the team line up to run through some two-point conversion situationals. On the first play, Justin Worley threw a pass to Marquez North in the back of the endzone that looked to be good, but North couldn’t hold on to the ball as he fell to the ground.
• The second unit saw Nathan Peterman at the helm, and he tossed what would’ve been a conversion to tight end Daniel Helm if he could’ve held on to the ball.
• The 1st-team defense could have at least two freshmen starters, as regular cornerback Emmanuel Moseley started at the second corner spot and Derek Barnett started at defensive end. Linebackers Dillon Bates was with the 1st-team as well as Jalen Reeves-Maybin sat out the conversion drills.
• After the two-point conversion drill, the team went to the other end of the practice field to work on some situational drills. They started at 1st and 10 from the 20-yard line and attempted to score. Worley came out with the 1st-team and looked sharp, hitting North for a score (North made an amazing catch to score as well) and followed that up with a screen pass to Devrin Young for a TD and handed off to Justus Pickett for a score.
• Peterman came out with the 2nd-team and looked just as good. He tossed a touchdown to Jason Croom and Daniel Helm during his drives. The only miscue during Peterman’s drive was a fumbled snap, but Peterman was able to pick it up and run for a decent gain.
• Dewayne Hendrix was on the 2nd-team defensive line, and Pig Howard was a 2nd-team receiver.
• Joshua Dobbs finally came out with the 3rd-team offense, and he showed some good resolve, throwing a perfectly placed pass to Johnathon Johnson for a score, handing off to Pickett for a touchdown, and kept it himself to run in a third touchdown.

Observations:

While running back Devrin Young was consistently out with the 1st-team offense today, don’t take that as an indication of the depth chart. It looks like the coaches have Young out there on the 1st-team during situationals to spread out the defense and make them prepare for screens more effectively. That being said, I believe Young will get quite a few touches this year since he is a very versatile weapon on the offense.

Wide receiver Jason Croom turned in a good day of practice today. He reeled in a great touchdown grab off a great Peterman pass during situationals, and during wide receiver drills coaches praised Croom for being alert and having good hands. He even drew praise from Butch Jones over the mic during the receiver drill.

Butch Jones said earlier this week that he hopes to name a starting quarterback this week if everything goes according to plan. If today’s practice is any indication, the QB battle looks to be down to two guys, Justin Worley and Nathan Peterman. All three QB’s looked solid today and more consistent than they have in any other practice so far, but Peterman and Worley really looked the most impressive today.

The Vols will have another two-a-day tomorrow, starting at 9 AM and finishing with a practice at 6:50 PM.