Spring Practice Takeaways

[murfvol]

Aside from reserves getting solid practice, has anything transpired to make you have a different take on next fall?

[Black Diamond Vol]

Hard to tell much from just the OW game, since about half the starters sat it out.  But as for the newcomers, Kamara looked good in his few carries.  I was really impressed with Dormady.  He showed better arm strength than I expected, and made some nice throws into traffic.  Jajuan Jennings is going to be a superstar, but probably not at QB.  The sooner he accepts that and moves to RB or WR, the sooner he'll get on the field.  Malone's big game was encouraging, but he had a big spring game last year, too.  Dobbs would've rushed for about 100 yards and a couple scores without the non-contact jersey. 

I see the crowd was annouced at 63K and change.  It didn't look quite that big on TV, but still a nice turnout.  I'm sure the  (completely inaccurate) forecast kept thousands away, especially those who would've come in from out of town.

[droner]

After watching the spring festivities, I don't think we know any more than we did yesterday. There were a lot of starters out with injuries, but I don't think that would have changed very much the nature of the proceedings. It was competition for the players and entertainment for the fans.

A sporting event, it probably was not. But I liked it. Pump up the players and entertain the fans.

For me, I still remain guardedly optimistic.

[midtnvol]

I'll go first....I'm all with this team. Anything less than a SECC win and a final four slot and I'll be PI$$ED.Well maybe not really PI$$ED, but mildly upset.

[murfvol]

Any OL thoughts?

[Black Diamond Vol]

Any OL thoughts?

Hard to really say, but to me they looked about the same as they did at the end of the season, when they had improved some over the train wreck they were earlier.  Gave up a handful of "sacks", but most of those would've actually gone for nice gains if Dobbs and Dormady hadn't been off-limits to contact.  And the running lanes were generally there, especially in the first half.

[Tnphil]

Jennings needs to be on the field somewhere but I don't see him ever playing much at QB. He's a pure athlete that doesn't need to be standing on the sidelines holding a clipboard.

[VOLMAN]

a very pleasant surprise, taking into account how little time he's had on campus I was impressed with his apparent understanding of the offense and his ability to maintain tempo....very nice arm too, he's a real QB. Jennings needs to be playing WR, he has great running ability but wasn't even in the Dormandy's dust cloud as far as QB abilities. Pray everyone stays healthy and we' should be very competitive.   

[HerbTarlekVol]

Any OL thoughts?

Not really impressed by what they did in the spring against a DL that was missing it's most experienced cogs. 

To borrow a line, the good news is that we've pretty much got all of our OL back.  The bad news is that we've pretty much got all of our OL back. 

Overall from the spring, as Droner indicated, just way too many key guys out with injuries or limited because of injuries to really take much away from spring practice.  The big thing to me is that our young guys continue to get bigger, stronger, and faster in the off season.

Plus, there are a good number of quality signees/blueshirts who will be in school in June and will have a chance to compete for PT.  Improvement is being made.  I just hope that the fans keep their expectations on a realistic level next fall.  The talent level is much better, but it's not where it needs to be just yet. 

And to add, in my opinion this is a huge year for the entire coaching staff as well.  We have seen that they can recruit.  We now need to see that they can coach the talent they have recruited.   

[Creek Walker]

This OL will make or break this team . . . and, perhaps, make or break this coaching staff. If the OL doesn't show improvement over last year, Tennessee is looking at another 6-6 type of season, and that is going to cause the fans to start to lose patience — and probably rightfully so.

We know we have a talented receiving corps, even without Pearson. We know we have an explosive duo of running backs. We know our DL, when healthy is going to be outstanding. We have a serviceable QB even if he doesn't improve a bit from last season. The OL is the huge question mark. If we're going to get to the 8 or 9 wins, or even 10 wins, that many fans anticipate and expect, it's going to require a huge step up.

[Clockwork Orange]

This OL will make or break this team . . . and, perhaps, make or break this coaching staff. If the OL doesn't show improvement over last year, Tennessee is looking at another 6-6 type of season, and that is going to cause the fans to start to lose patience — and probably rightfully so.

We know we have a talented receiving corps, even without Pearson. We know we have an explosive duo of running backs. We know our DL, when healthy is going to be outstanding. We have a serviceable QB even if he doesn't improve a bit from last season. The OL is the huge question mark. If we're going to get to the 8 or 9 wins, or even 10 wins, that many fans anticipate and expect, it's going to require a huge step up.

The OL will be better. I'm pretty confident in that. But unlike you I'm actually worried about WR . . . we have a bunch of guys who are prone to mistakes, prone to disappearing, prone to injury, or so far have not lived up to the hype. Who is reliable? Pig? Perhaps, if he can stay eligible, but basically nobody else is proven. We have flashes of brilliance from North but not consistent #1 target level performance; potential but laziness in Malone; slow development in Croom; big talk about but too many injuries for Smith . . . and not much depth behind those guys.

At running back I love our top 2 but there is no depth at all. Those two absolutely have to stay healthy. The lack of depth there and at WR probably means a whole lot of two-TE sets., which is fine . . . but depth may be a concern there too after losing Helm.

I think OL will be okay, QB will be good, and the defense will be solid-to-good at all three levels. I'm concerned about offensive skill positions though. We can't afford any injuries at all.

[HerbTarlekVol]

The OL will be better. I'm pretty confident in that. But unlike you I'm actually worried about WR . . . we have a bunch of guys who are prone to mistakes, prone to disappearing, prone to injury, or so far have not lived up to the hype. Who is reliable? Pig? Perhaps, if he can stay eligible, but basically nobody else is proven. We have flashes of brilliance from North but not consistent #1 target level performance; potential but laziness in Malone; slow development in Croom; big talk about but too many injuries for Smith . . . and not much depth behind those guys.

At running back I love our top 2 but there is no depth at all. Those two absolutely have to stay healthy. The lack of depth there and at WR probably means a whole lot of two-TE sets., which is fine . . . but depth may be a concern there too after losing Helm.

I think OL will be okay, QB will be good, and the defense will be solid-to-good at all three levels. I'm concerned about offensive skill positions though. We can't afford any injuries at all.

Agree with you on the WRs.  It looks to be an incredibly over hyped group that just hasn't come near the hype.  The loss of Wharton and, from everything I am hearing, the loss of Howard and Pearson both (which my sources believe is inevitable) it really cuts in to that position's depth, as well.  Malone has to step up and Josh Smith is going to have to get over his case of stone hands, and Croom in particular is going to have to start getting it.

And like you I really like the duo of Hurd and Kamara, but from there it looks like we are going to be counting on a true freshman (kid from Michigan, name escapes me at the moment) as the #3.  That's never a good thing.  The #3 is going to have to be on the field at some time during the season in SEC football. 

I'm not as confident as you with the OL.  As I said, they struggled against a patchwork DL during spring practice.  That doesn't bode well. 

[Clockwork Orange]

Agree with you on the WRs.  It looks to be an incredibly over hyped group that just hasn't come near the hype.  The loss of Wharton and, from everything I am hearing, the loss of Howard and Pearson both (which my sources believe is inevitable) it really cuts in to that position's depth, as well.  Malone has to step up and Josh Smith is going to have to get over his case of stone hands, and Croom in particular is going to have to start getting it.

And like you I really like the duo of Hurd and Kamara, but from there it looks like we are going to be counting on a true freshman (kid from Michigan, name escapes me at the moment) as the #3.  That's never a good thing.  The #3 is going to have to be on the field at some time during the season in SEC football. 

I'm not as confident as you with the OL.  As I said, they struggled against a patchwork DL during spring practice.  That doesn't bode well. 

I think that patchwork DL is more talented than you are giving it credit for, and from what I've read the OL had some strong days against them anyway. More inconsistent than struggling. I expect better play out of Kerbyson since he's been devoted to left tackle (though this will still be the weak point IMO), and I think Kendrick develops enough to play the other tackle adequately. I think both of those spots are better than last year. We already know what we have in Jackson and Crowder, and I think Robertson will certainly improve upon his freshman year. So I think we're better at 3 of 5 positions and static at the other two, but crucially they'll be playing in front of Dobbs-- and they looked an awful lot better when blocking for him late in the year.