Tennessee Football: Five Biggest Concerns Post-Spring Practice

4. Consistency at tight end

Butch Jones and Mike DeBord clearly want to have two valuable tight ends they can turn to at any time when they need to. And the departure of Alex Ellis left a void that they were looking to fill.

Enter Jason Croom.

The former wide receiver has now converted to a tight end in hopes of creating a major mismatch in the passing game. He was expected to join Ethan Wolf, a true tight end, to make the total package. But this obviously raises some concerns on its own for the future.

For starters, it’s not like Croom lining up at tight end won’t send a signal to opposing defenses to sub in defensive backs to guard him unless he can pick up the blocking schemes and physical play of the position. Well, that physical play wasn’t fully on display in the spring game.

And he did show a bit of confusion at times.

Croom dropped an easy pass with a defender closing on him that appeared to be an awkward connection, and the ball bounced right off of his chest before landing in the hands of Todd Kelly Jr. for an interception. Meanwhile, we heard very little about his development during the spring.

This is also one where the departure of Mark Elder, who was also the tight ends coach, leaves things up for questioning.

Again, it’s not a huge freak-out, but it’s something to pay attention to. Add in a drop by Ethan Wolf in the spring game, and it only raises just a few more questions.

Next: #3: Injuries