Cameron Sutton and Brett Kendrick were singled out for praise in the eighth Tennessee football spring practice March 31. The Vols practiced for two hours.
The Tennessee Volunteers completed a two-hour practice inside at the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex Thursday.
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Based on quotes from staff members on UTSports, the focus in this practice appeared to be on the offensive line and the back end on defense.
Offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said Brett Kendrick has stood out throughout this spring and made a point to heap praise on him in addition to heaping praise on the effort the young linemen are making to learn the position. He called it the toughest position to learn, according to a UTSports quote.
"“They are going to keep getting better and they definitely need to do that. It’s a tough position.”"
Meanwhile, defensive coordinator Bob Shoop heaped praise on Cameron Sutton as a leader in the secondary on defense. He’s clearly pointing out what Vol Nation has known to be true for three years. But here’s a quote from him on UTSports.
"“He’s a pro. Someone asked me yesterday, ‘What’s so good about him?’ It’s his approach.”"
Meanwhile, the running backs were a focus as well. Robert Gillespie heaped praise on the focus of Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, and 247 Sports has an article up about John Kelly emerging as a solid running back in his own right behind the two.
In fact, Kelly broke a program record Tuesday by clocking in a run at 22 miles per hour.
All of this is good news for the spring. For starters, on the offensive line, it’s always important to know that players are standing out in the spring there and progressing. That unit is finally stocked and experienced, so there should be no excuses in the Fall, and to avoid excuses, continued development has to happen.
Meanwhile, although Vol Nation knew how great Sutton was, he did struggle through part of the season last year, which indeed hurt his draft stock. Shoop’s quotes, however, hint that he is back to his old self, which bodes well for the Fall.
And Kelly’s emergence is great for Tennessee’s future. The Vols could potentially lose both Hurd and Kamara after this year, so the more Kelly can be ready to somewhat fill that void in 2017, the better.
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Overall, the news from Thursday’s spring practice was much more encouraging than what Butch Jones hinted on Tuesday.