Tennessee football head coach Jeremy Pruitt provided multiple roster updates for the Volunteers ahead of spring practice.
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Spring practice is less than two weeks away for Tennessee football. With a new head coach and a new system, Vols fans have had numerous questions surrounding exactly what their roster will look like ahead of it.
Jeremy Pruitt was able to answer some of those questions on Friday. The new Vols head coach provided updates on position changes, his staff, and who will be available.
To be clear, these aren’t all the spring updates. But they give us a clearer picture of how it will look for Tennessee football. So these are the major updates for us to bring you Friday.
Position changes
- Linebacker Ja’Quain Blakeley will begin the first seven days of spring practice at tight end.
- Running back Carlin Fils-Aime will begin the first seven days of spring practice at defensive back.
- Wide receiver Tyler Byrd will also begin the first seven days of spring practice at defensive back.
It’s important to note that all of these position changes are temporary for right now, according to Patrick Brown of GoVols247. Byrd switching was expected to a degree. The same was not true for Fils-Aime, but this is probably why Pruitt said that Tennessee football isn’t as thin in the secondary as people thought.
Blakely switching to tight end is also a bit of a surprise. But Pruitt noted that defensive end and outside linebacker can be interchangeable in his 3-4 system, so it makes the linebacker position deeper than initially thought. As a result, Blakely’s playing time could be even more limited, so the switch could make sense.
Additions to team
Graduate transfer quarterback Keller Chryst has officially signed with Tennessee football, and Jeremy Pruitt announced his addition Friday according to UTSports. He will have an immediate chance to compete for the Vols’ starting quarterback job.
Brown also reported on 247Sports that Jauan Jennings has officially rejoined the team as well. However, he will still miss the spring due to injury, which leads to our next point.
Players missing spring practice
As we said, Jennings will miss spring practice. That’s because of a knee surgery he had to undergo. However, he is back on the team.
Another Brown report on 247Sports updated the offensive line situation for Tennessee football’s spring practice. Pruitt updated the status of Trey Smith, who will miss all of spring due to a personal health issue.
Smith could still return for the season. Everything is up in the air.
Chance Hall, meanwhile, just underwent surgery. So he will be out for the spring as well, but he could also return for the 2017 season.
K’Rojhn Calbert will be limited, and Nathan Niehaus has been taking part in winter workouts. Those are all the names mentioned in the report. We’ll have more roster updates to come.
Next: 10 Vols bound for turnaround under Jeremy Pruitt
Another staff member
John Brice of Gridiron Now is reporting that Jeremy Pruitt added another member from the Alabama Crimson Tide to his Tennessee football staff. Brice said Pruitt is bringing in nutritionist Rachel Pfister to join the staff.
Pfister has reportedly been a part of the staff for weeks now. She joins strength coach Craig Fitzgerald in trying to make sure the players are in as good of shape as possible, something that was clearly an issue the last two years.