• Freshman receiver Ryan Jenkins, redshirt freshman kicker George Bullock, defensive back Michael Williams, senior defensive end Jacques Smith and redshirt senior tight end Joseph Ayres observed practice and preformed calisthenics from the “The Hole.” • Injured freshman lineman Dylan Wiesman participated in most stretching, individual and team drills. • Linebackers Greg King, Justin King, Curt Maggitt, receiver Alton “Pig” Howard, running back Marlin Lane, safety Brian Randolph and receiver Johnathon Johnson were in green no-contact jerseys. • The Vols had a host of visitors on hand. Tennessee men’s basketball coach Cuonzo Martin observed practice from an Anderson Training Center balcony. Tennessee baseball coach Dave Serrano viewed practice from the far sideline. Former Vols Troy Fleming and Andy Kelly also were on hand. • A Philadelphia Eagles scout was on hand. • Butch Jones instructed his players to yell, “AP” on the blow of a whistle during opening stretching. Jones said it was because Austin Peay should be the only thing on their minds. • Jones also rode players who seemed sluggish at the beginning of practice, saying, “If you didn’t get eight hours of sleep, then you’re not winning the day.” He also took to his microphone to remind players they needed to be drinking three gallons of water a day. • Vols players also wore strips of plastic wrap on the crown of their helmets. The helmets were noticeably shinier. They could be wearing their game day helmets and trying to break them in. From the offensive side… • Justin Worley quarterbacked the first team offense during walk-throughs. Redshirt freshman receiver Jason Croom and Marques North were split out wide. Devrin Young and Howard rotated in the slot. Junior Brendan Downs was at tight end. Rajion Neal was at tailback. • Worley wore a helmet camera during Thursday’s practice. He was the only quarterback with one on. • The first team offense continued to feature end-around motions during walk-throughs. The Vols showed several play action plays where Worley would fake to the slot man running around the edge. • Jacob Carter, Howard, Croom and freshman Josh Smith were featured at wideout in the Vols’ verticals or “Hail Marry” package. Receivers coach Zach Azzanni referred to it as the “Big Ben” package. • The Vols’ second team offense had Nathan Peterman at the helm and rotated Marlin Lane, Tom Smith and Deanthonie Summerhill at running back. • Jones seems to pick out a freshman to victimize during each practice. Today’s lucky winner was receiver Smith. Jones was yelling in the youngster’s ear during individual drills. Jones hollered everything from, “If you can’t handle me, how can you handle 102,455 on Saturdays?” or “You have to grow up in a hurry, Smith. It is what it is. You don’t have a choice!” With Jones fixated on his routes, Smith dropped several balls and even fell out of his breaks on simple out-routes. Azzanni added to the frenzy saying, “If you can’t handle Butch Jones how can you handle the Austin Peay’s DBs?” • Freshman receiver Paul Harris returned to action. The youngster received rare praise during individual position work for his tight cuts during route running drills. • To get an up-close look at Tennessee’s blocking, offensive coordinator Mike Bajakian inserted himself into one drill in place of 6-foot-2, 327-pound Greg Clark. None of Tennessee’s O-linemen hit Bajakian, who goes maybe 160 pounds. • Perhaps due to over-use, Butch Jones’ microphone shorted out several times during the workout, muting several words in some sentences. • Jacob Carter, former walk-on receiver who is now on scholarship, continues to exhibit the best hands on the team. The 6-foot, 190-pound junior from Nashville made a couple of eye-catching grabs during the media portion of Thursday’s practice. From the defensive side… • Freshman receiver North and tight end Woody Quinn were used to bat down passes at the goal line in “Hail Mary” prevention. • Cornerback Williams was out of his arm sling and was running sprints with Jacques Smith and director of strength and conditioning Dave Lawson. Smith is still in a cast. From special teams… • Redshirt junior punter Matt Darr continues to look dismal. Darr shanked a punt out of Haslam Field and onto the street. He skied several others. The ball didn’t go more than 15 yards at times. • Devrin Young fielded puts with the first team. Young was scorned after he failed to holler, “Poison!” when letting a punt drop in front of him. Freshman Cameron Sutton took his place. • The Vols’ punt team worked with three-up men Thursday. They have previously featured four men stationed in front of punter Michael Palardy. The up-backs were Greg King, redshirt freshman linebacker Joe Stocstill and Trevarris Saulsberry. Stocstill does the signal calling. • The first team punt unit’s front line is defensive back heavy. JaRon Toney, LaDarrell McNeil, Byron Moore and Justin Coleman were all on the line.
Posted on: Fri, 23 Aug 2013 03:23:46 +0000
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