Tennessee football: Five encouraging signs from 2021 spring practice
2. Walk-ons managed to stand out
Let’s be honest. Tennessee football will have to go the old-school Nebraska Cornhuskers route for a little while if they are going to be successful under Josh Heupel early to get their recruiting up to snuff. That means finding walk-ons who can stand out for the program.
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Well, throughout the spring, multiple walk-ons and former walk-onsstood out. Everybody is aware of how depleted the Vols were at linebacker. That allowed the coaches to give multiple players looks, and redshirt sophomore Kwauze Garland, the brother of defensive lineman Kurott Garland, was one of the players to make a splash with his command of the defense.
Joining Garland is Dayne Davis on the offensive line. With the losses of Trey Smith and Brandon Kennedy and the transfers of Jahmir Johnson and Wanya Morris, the Vols need more help at tackle so they can move Cade Mays back to guard, where he is best. Davis stood out on the outside in the spring, and he could potentially start at tackle alongside Darnell Wright.
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To be fair, Davis and Garland have both since received scholarships. Jack Jancek, the son of former Tennessee football defensive coordinator John Jancek, is still a walk-on, and he led all receivers in the spring game with 137 receiving yards and a touchdown on two catches. His performance combined with the other two guys, though, makes for huge positives overall.