Butch Jones did not hide his displeasure with the Volunteers in the seventh Tennessee Football spring practice on Tuesday.
Normally, Butch Jones is the king of encouraging quotes and selling the program. He did not do that on Tuesday, though.
Following a Saturday scrimmage and without his starting quarterback due to another commitment, Jones said he bluntly did not like his team’s approach on Tuesday, according to a video posted on UTSports.
“I thought we took a step back as a football team,” he said. “I didn’t think we showed much leadership. We weren’t very physical in practice today.”
To be fair, Jones did say he had liked his team’s mental and physical approach throughout spring ball up to this point. He simply did not like the way it went Tuesday, and he warned that his team has got to remain focused and intense throughout the spring and cannot take these practices.
The Vols were in full pads Tuesday at Haslam Field, and the offense donned Smokey Gray helmets due to their win in the scrimmage on Saturday.
Injury Report: Sheriron Jones Out
Quarterback Sheriron Jones will be out the rest of the spring due to what Butch Jones called an “unusual injury.” After missing all of his freshman year, the redshirt freshman is expected to be back in June.
Sheriron Jones is one of many players now who are missing the spring due to injury, and that left the Vols down on quarterbacks Tuesday because of another major player who was not there.
Joshua Dobbs Misses Practice
In what seems like a rare occurrence, a Tennessee football player missed a spring practice for something that was not related to injury.
Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs was in Atlanta to accept the Amateur “Peach of an Athlete” Role Model Award and the 32nd annual Peach of an Athlete Role Model Banquet, according to a report from 247 Sports.
In comments made to UTSports, Butch Jones said Dobbs “embodies what a student-athlete is.”
“I know (his parents) Stephanie and Robert have done such a tremendous job of raising him,” Jones said to UTSports. “He embodies everything that we stand for.”
Next Spring Practice
The eighth spring practice for the Vols is scheduled for Thursday, March 31 at 4:15 p.m.