Tennessee football: 5 most encouraging signs from Vols 2019 spring practice

5. Newcomers made a splash

As we said, Tennessee football’s 2019 recruiting class was a big reason on its own for hope that the Vols would dramatically improve this year. Well, they already showed signs of that with the early enrollees during spring practice.

Among the most clear standouts was Wanya Morris. He was once a five-star offensive tackle who remained that on many services but closed out as a four-star on Rivals. However, consensus was that he had five-star talent.

Well, Morris made his way into the first-team rotation on the offensive line, which is a huge deal. Obviously, Trey Smith’s health issues, the departure of Drew Richmond and the end of Chance Hall’s career meant that tackle was wide open. But there were plenty of other players with more experience in the program vying for a spot in the rotation.

For Morris to work his way in there along with guys who burst onto the scene like K’Rojhn Calbert is a big plus. But he isn’t the only early enrollee who made a splash with the Vols during this year’s spring practice. Jaylen McCullough made a splash when it mattered most. A second-team defensive back, McCullough came away with two interceptions in the spring game.

Now, he didn’t get the same level of praise throughout the spring that Morris got, but stepping up in that moment, proving you can do it under the lights, counts for something. As a result, Morris and McCullough count as splash players. It puts Jeremy Pruitt ahead of the curve trying to restock his team as he waits for the rest of the elite talent to arrive in the summer.