Vols Football: 4/21 Spring Practice Notes

Vols quarterbacks Joshua Dobbs and Jauan Jennings run through drills during Tuesday’s practice. PHOTO: Nathanael Rutherford

The Vols took the practice field Tuesday afternoon for the 13th of 15 practices in the spring, and it was a much more laid back practice than previous weeks. With the Orange and White Game only a handful of days away, a more toned back practice was expected.

The most notable takeaway from today’s practice was seeing redshirt freshman Charles Mosley lining up in a different position. Mosley has been practicing at defensive tackle all spring, but today he practiced with the offensive line and saw some time at guard during drills.

Here are some other notes from today’s practice:

• Most of today’s work was in individual drills. No scrimmage/situational work was done during the open periods today, and that was expected with the Orange and White Game right around the corner.
• All of the quarterbacks were throwing the ball really well today, as all three scholarship QB’s showed some good zip and ball placement on several throws. Joshua Dobbs especially had some good throws.
• While the quarterbacks had a good day, the receivers still had their struggles. Today wasn’t the worst day the receivers have had, but it wasn’t the best either. Josh Smith was a shining exception, however, as he turned in what was likely his best practice of the spring so far. Butch Jones singled him out as having the best practice he’s seen him have since his injury last season, and Smith certainly played with a burst and confidence not seen so far this spring.

Observations

As mentioned before, Joshua Dobbs was throwing the ball really well today. His throws had good zip on them and very few of them were misplaced. In one drill, Dobbs threw a perfect strike to Josh Malone in the back of the endzone, hitting Malone in stride. Dobbs has shown considerable progression this spring, and his future just keeps looking brighter.

Speaking of Malone, he had another mostly positive day with some negatives sprinkled in. In an individual drill, Malone missed a catch that hit him right in the hands, and the coaches made him go back and run through the drill. This time, he caught the ball without a hitch, showing a bounce-back ability people questioned he had last season.

Moving Charles Mosley to the offensive line was an expected move for the Vols eventually, but it’s curious that they would do so now after spring practices are nearly over. Mosley was expected to get a look at defensive tackle first and eventually be moved to the offensive line, but with spring practices almost over, it looked as though he would wait to be moved till the fall. The move now likely means little, but it’s just something worth pointing out and could speak to the depth at the defensive line moving forward.