Tennessee football: Five Vols who suffered from no spring game

Although there was an open scrimmage this past spring, construction at Neyland Stadium kept Tennessee football from having an official orange and white game. That may not seem like a huge deal, but for specific players in specific circumstances, that spring game was needed. Those players suffered from it not happening.

The second scrimmage being open to the public isn’t enough. Although it’s just a spring game, it can give coaches first glance at how players perform under the lights. That combined with them having developed through the spring can give everybody a much better idea of their value.

Players who suffered the most may have struggled a bit throughout spring practice or are game time performers. Think Jauan Jennings. He needs to play under the lights to show what he can do. Which players needed that this year? Let’s break that down. These are the five Vols who suffered from Tennessee football not having a spring game.

6’1″ 186 pounds

One of the speedsters for the Vols who signed in 2021 out of Georgia, Christian Charles was a backup safety last year and showed what he could do with that speed when he blocked a punt against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the second game of the year. This spring, he did a few things that likely raised his profile.

With so many injuries at cornerback, the graduate of Chestatee High School in Gainesville, Ga., saw action over there. All signs pointed to him developing into a versatile player in the secondary. However, that versatility needed to be on display in front of an audience.

Charles not being able to do that limited just how much he could put on display for the Tennessee football coaches. That blocked punt against Pitt shows that the Hall County kid steps up in the big moments, so if he were developing at cornerback, a spring game might have shown that. Not having it cost him.