GENERAL NEWS AND NOTES
Practice was held outdoors on the practice field behind McGugin, starting around 7 a.m.
They put pads on today, which they didn’t do Monday and Wednesday. There was some “thud”-level contact, and Saturday will take it a notch beyond that.
I don’t know if they’ve done this before (maybe they had, and I didn’t notice) but they were having quarterbacks drop back while coaches rolled those big yoga balls at them in the drop-back.
WR Jackson Winrow is now wearing No. 11
LB Emmanuel Smith now wears No. 4
DB LaDarius Wiley now wears No. 5
LB Jordan Griffin now wears No. 40
DB Tae Daley wears No. 6
LB Dmitri Moore wears No. 7
Former Titans All-Pro RB Eddie George was in attendance. You look at the guy physically and swear he could still play football. His son, Zaire George, is a reserve RB on this team.
NON-PARTICIPANTS
DB Frank Coppet was out and will be all spring
WR Caleb Scott
FB Bailey McElwain
LIMITED PARTICIPANTS
SN Wilson Johnson had a red jersey on, but was participating.
LB Andre Mintze was limited, but doing some work.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
DL Josiah Sa’o is up to nearly 300 pounds after reporting around 270 last year. The coaching staff likes him and his work ethic and he’s a guy who will bd needed to step up and help this year. I watched him for a few minutes; it’s a good 300-ish with some size in his upper arms.
Following up on a podcast note from the other day: if you lined all the guys up and had a footrace to determine the fastest player, WR Donaven Tennyson would be the likely winner. Other guys in the conversation would be DB Tae Daley, WRs Caleb Scott and Kalijah Lipscomb, with WR Trent Sherfield maybe being in that group also.
Sherfield caught about a 40-yard TD from QB Kyle Shurmur in drills. There was decent coverage, and Kyle made a nice throw with Sherfield positioning his body perfectly to make the grap. The throw was mostly in the air and I didn’t see who had coverage.
Moments later, Tennyson made a TD grab from QB Deuce Wallace. (Neither of these throws were 11-on-11s or even 7-on-7s, but, they are nice plays.) My perception is that Tennyson has made some progress.
OL Bailey Granier lined up at tackle some on Monday, they consider him a guy who can play either guard or tackle. I wouldn’t read too much into him getting the first reps at tackle the other day; this is a time where they experiment with things just to see what their options might be.
OL David Floyd has developed physically. I don’t know if he helps now, but the walk-on might help them in the future.
LB Emmanuel Smith had a pick-6 in a 7-on-7. Didn’t see who threw the pick, but it covered a good 50-60 yards.
OL Darion DeBrossard’s move to the offensive side seems permanent. Look for him to line up as the Sean Dowling-type tight end in some sets this year, especially with tight end depth not being what it was last year.
DE Jonathan Wynn knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage in 11-on-11s.
RB Dallas Rivers broke off about a 20-yard run in traffic today.
S Austin Quillen was getting live reps today. I don’t think he got any reps last August when he dealt with an injury.
WR Kalija Lipscomb made a terrific, diving catch along the sideline on a long out.
It wasn’t a great day for TE Jared Pinkney, who dropped a strike from Shurmur that should have gone for about 25 yards. The guy can still be a star in this league, but, consistency has always been an issue. (He did come back and catch a 10-15 harder minutes later.)
I’ve never seen anything like what I saw today out of QB Sean Stankavage. He had more zip on his throws, and hit Sherfield on a beautiful throw that went about 55 yards in the air that Sherfield dove and caught. That was one of those, “Wait, where did this come from,” moments.”
TEAM NOTES
The key thing to watch is the battles along the defensive front. If the season started today, starting ends would likely be Dare Odeyingbo and Jonathan Wynn, with Nifae Lealao in the middle, but it’s not settled. Honestly, I think this one of the bigger areas of concern; I’m not saying it’s dire, but, the numbers at this position may not be what they are at the other spots, and they need guys like redshirt freshmen Cameron Tidd and Drew Birchmeier to step up. Jay Woods is healthier and is going to help, too, and that’s big. Still, you can watch practice all you want and make your own observations, but, you just don’t know who’s capable of doing what until they face SEC competition.
Center is going to be another key position battle. Right, now, it’s Cole Hardin and Sean Auwae McMoore.
At linebacker: Playing inside today: Emmanuel Smith, Oren Burks, Jay Hockaday, Jordan Griffin and Dmitri Moore.
Playing outside: Josh Smith, Caleb Peart, Kenny Hebert and Charles Wright.
They like Hebert. he’s got to add size but he may help now and he’s really long.
Returning kicks today: C.J. Duncan, Ralph Webb, Ryan White, Josh Crawford and Donaven Tennyson. They audition a bunch of guys there this time of year who never get a game rep, so take that for what it’s worth. Based on ability and the fact that some of these guys like Webb, White and Duncan have more definite roles elsewhere, I’d put my money on Tennyson, with Crawford maybe being a second KOR guy based on being likely the fourth RB on the depth chart. (I”m presuming Jamauri Wakefield jumps on on raw ability, though it’s not a given.)
Duncan also fumbled one of those end-over-end things that PK Tommy Openshaw booted; it was a tough catch and he didn’t make it.
To that, Sam Loy will still be the punter, but it’s spring practice and so Openshaw will still get reps ther.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
It’s two practices in and there’s not a lot of contact, so though I saw a lot of good today, keep in in that context. The degree of difficulty is a lot less than when they’re playing Georgia or Alabama and while I was encouraged today than not, don’t read “Sugar Bowl” between the lines. I think this is a team that has a chance to make some noise in an SEC East that will be more competitive from top to bottom than it’s ever been, and we’ll see what happens from there.
I had to put my money on a veteran to raise his game another notch or two, it’s Trent Sherfield. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with him this time last year, especially combined with the way he ended 2015. But I’ve always said this: Sherfield was at a disadvantage as a freshman, not only switching positions, but being asked to play when he probably shouldn’t have been. He’s always been behind on the learning curve compared to everyone else because of those things, and so we knew this was a possibility. He’s clearly a better player than he was a year ago. And it’s a credit to him that he’s to this point. He’s worked exceptionally hard to get here.
I talked the other day about numbers being down. Obviously, there were about 10 guys with eligibility who could have returned (that includes Nigel Bowden and Zach Cunningham), but I think the overall number of walk-ons seems to be down also. I think there were more players out there this time last year than now.
I think there are a lot of quality players on this team. With the exception of DL, I think they’ll be okay most places.
That said, I don’t know that I can identify a lot of stars. Maybe Sherfield steps up and becomes one, or Pinkney, or Burks, or Ryan White, or Lealao, but there’s not a Zach Cunningham on this roster who just “wows” me.
Practice was held outdoors on the practice field behind McGugin, starting around 7 a.m.
They put pads on today, which they didn’t do Monday and Wednesday. There was some “thud”-level contact, and Saturday will take it a notch beyond that.
I don’t know if they’ve done this before (maybe they had, and I didn’t notice) but they were having quarterbacks drop back while coaches rolled those big yoga balls at them in the drop-back.
WR Jackson Winrow is now wearing No. 11
LB Emmanuel Smith now wears No. 4
DB LaDarius Wiley now wears No. 5
LB Jordan Griffin now wears No. 40
DB Tae Daley wears No. 6
LB Dmitri Moore wears No. 7
Former Titans All-Pro RB Eddie George was in attendance. You look at the guy physically and swear he could still play football. His son, Zaire George, is a reserve RB on this team.
NON-PARTICIPANTS
DB Frank Coppet was out and will be all spring
WR Caleb Scott
FB Bailey McElwain
LIMITED PARTICIPANTS
SN Wilson Johnson had a red jersey on, but was participating.
LB Andre Mintze was limited, but doing some work.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
DL Josiah Sa’o is up to nearly 300 pounds after reporting around 270 last year. The coaching staff likes him and his work ethic and he’s a guy who will bd needed to step up and help this year. I watched him for a few minutes; it’s a good 300-ish with some size in his upper arms.
Following up on a podcast note from the other day: if you lined all the guys up and had a footrace to determine the fastest player, WR Donaven Tennyson would be the likely winner. Other guys in the conversation would be DB Tae Daley, WRs Caleb Scott and Kalijah Lipscomb, with WR Trent Sherfield maybe being in that group also.
Sherfield caught about a 40-yard TD from QB Kyle Shurmur in drills. There was decent coverage, and Kyle made a nice throw with Sherfield positioning his body perfectly to make the grap. The throw was mostly in the air and I didn’t see who had coverage.
Moments later, Tennyson made a TD grab from QB Deuce Wallace. (Neither of these throws were 11-on-11s or even 7-on-7s, but, they are nice plays.) My perception is that Tennyson has made some progress.
OL Bailey Granier lined up at tackle some on Monday, they consider him a guy who can play either guard or tackle. I wouldn’t read too much into him getting the first reps at tackle the other day; this is a time where they experiment with things just to see what their options might be.
OL David Floyd has developed physically. I don’t know if he helps now, but the walk-on might help them in the future.
LB Emmanuel Smith had a pick-6 in a 7-on-7. Didn’t see who threw the pick, but it covered a good 50-60 yards.
OL Darion DeBrossard’s move to the offensive side seems permanent. Look for him to line up as the Sean Dowling-type tight end in some sets this year, especially with tight end depth not being what it was last year.
DE Jonathan Wynn knocked down a pass at the line of scrimmage in 11-on-11s.
RB Dallas Rivers broke off about a 20-yard run in traffic today.
S Austin Quillen was getting live reps today. I don’t think he got any reps last August when he dealt with an injury.
WR Kalija Lipscomb made a terrific, diving catch along the sideline on a long out.
It wasn’t a great day for TE Jared Pinkney, who dropped a strike from Shurmur that should have gone for about 25 yards. The guy can still be a star in this league, but, consistency has always been an issue. (He did come back and catch a 10-15 harder minutes later.)
I’ve never seen anything like what I saw today out of QB Sean Stankavage. He had more zip on his throws, and hit Sherfield on a beautiful throw that went about 55 yards in the air that Sherfield dove and caught. That was one of those, “Wait, where did this come from,” moments.”
TEAM NOTES
The key thing to watch is the battles along the defensive front. If the season started today, starting ends would likely be Dare Odeyingbo and Jonathan Wynn, with Nifae Lealao in the middle, but it’s not settled. Honestly, I think this one of the bigger areas of concern; I’m not saying it’s dire, but, the numbers at this position may not be what they are at the other spots, and they need guys like redshirt freshmen Cameron Tidd and Drew Birchmeier to step up. Jay Woods is healthier and is going to help, too, and that’s big. Still, you can watch practice all you want and make your own observations, but, you just don’t know who’s capable of doing what until they face SEC competition.
Center is going to be another key position battle. Right, now, it’s Cole Hardin and Sean Auwae McMoore.
At linebacker: Playing inside today: Emmanuel Smith, Oren Burks, Jay Hockaday, Jordan Griffin and Dmitri Moore.
Playing outside: Josh Smith, Caleb Peart, Kenny Hebert and Charles Wright.
They like Hebert. he’s got to add size but he may help now and he’s really long.
Returning kicks today: C.J. Duncan, Ralph Webb, Ryan White, Josh Crawford and Donaven Tennyson. They audition a bunch of guys there this time of year who never get a game rep, so take that for what it’s worth. Based on ability and the fact that some of these guys like Webb, White and Duncan have more definite roles elsewhere, I’d put my money on Tennyson, with Crawford maybe being a second KOR guy based on being likely the fourth RB on the depth chart. (I”m presuming Jamauri Wakefield jumps on on raw ability, though it’s not a given.)
Duncan also fumbled one of those end-over-end things that PK Tommy Openshaw booted; it was a tough catch and he didn’t make it.
To that, Sam Loy will still be the punter, but it’s spring practice and so Openshaw will still get reps ther.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
It’s two practices in and there’s not a lot of contact, so though I saw a lot of good today, keep in in that context. The degree of difficulty is a lot less than when they’re playing Georgia or Alabama and while I was encouraged today than not, don’t read “Sugar Bowl” between the lines. I think this is a team that has a chance to make some noise in an SEC East that will be more competitive from top to bottom than it’s ever been, and we’ll see what happens from there.
I had to put my money on a veteran to raise his game another notch or two, it’s Trent Sherfield. Honestly, I wasn’t that impressed with him this time last year, especially combined with the way he ended 2015. But I’ve always said this: Sherfield was at a disadvantage as a freshman, not only switching positions, but being asked to play when he probably shouldn’t have been. He’s always been behind on the learning curve compared to everyone else because of those things, and so we knew this was a possibility. He’s clearly a better player than he was a year ago. And it’s a credit to him that he’s to this point. He’s worked exceptionally hard to get here.
I talked the other day about numbers being down. Obviously, there were about 10 guys with eligibility who could have returned (that includes Nigel Bowden and Zach Cunningham), but I think the overall number of walk-ons seems to be down also. I think there were more players out there this time last year than now.
I think there are a lot of quality players on this team. With the exception of DL, I think they’ll be okay most places.
That said, I don’t know that I can identify a lot of stars. Maybe Sherfield steps up and becomes one, or Pinkney, or Burks, or Ryan White, or Lealao, but there’s not a Zach Cunningham on this roster who just “wows” me.
