Tennessee football: Highlights from 2021 spring game

Although this may mean that defense is a big concern, Tennessee football provided lots of fun highlights for the fans in its first spring game under Josh Heupel. Hey, that’s all you can ask for as a Vol fan right now.

The Orange beat the White 42-37 with the three scholarship quarterbacks all playing on both teams and combining for five touchdowns. Numerous receivers stood out as well, and a couple of running backs also had solid performances in the process.

Let’s take a look at some of the most notable moments in this event. It’s worth looking back on the fun, as that’s what fans on Rocky Top have to be excited about. Here are highlights from Tennessee football’s spring game.

Jaylen Wright seven-yard touchdown run

Honestly, after a three-and-out on the opening drive, there was reason to believe that poor quarterback play would make this look like a defensive game. That was put to rest on this drive, which Hendon Hooker was in on, and Jaylen Wright, another newcomer, capped it off with a score to put the White up 7-0.

Harrison Bailey 73-yard touchdown pass to John Jancek

It’s hard to look at this and not think that Harrison Bailey doesn’t have a beautiful deep ball, regardless of who he’s going against. He found John Jancek for a deep touchdown pass to tie the game up 7-7 in the first.

Harrison Bailey 20-yard touchdown pass to Velus Jones Jr.

After a Chase McGrath field goal put the white up 10-7, Harrison Bailey drove the Orange down the field this time. He capped it off with this touchdown pass to Velus Jones Jr. to put the Orange up 17-14 on the day.

Hendon Hooker 29-yard pass to Cedric Tillman

Although he struggled on the day, including throwing a pick-six, Hendon Hooker had a strong finish. That was capped off with this 29-yard touchdown pass to Cedric Tillman to cut into the Orange’s 42-31 lead at the time, which is why the final score was 42-37.

Hooker finished the day with an interception, a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown. Brian Maurer finished with just a passing touchdown. Harrison Bailey finished with two passing touchdowns. On that front, Bailey was the top performer. However, as these videos show, Tennessee football’s quarterbacks were the highlights of this spring game.