Notes, Observations From Tennessee's First Practice of Fall Camp

Football season is officially upon as Josh Heupel's team took to Haslam Field today to kickoff fall camp. Coaches and players met with the media yesterday to

Football season is officially upon as Josh Heupel's team took to Haslam Field today to kickoff fall camp. Coaches and players met with the media yesterday to discuss their thoughts heading into camp, and there was plenty of excitement from each individual we heard from. After day one of camp, here are the notes and observations the Volunteer Country staff collected. 

Team Health

Len'Neth Whitehead's injury was revealed yesterday, but Josh Heupel stated he felt his team was otherwise healthy and that appeared to be the case during today's outing. Jaylen Wright and Christian Charles were the only limited participants and both received individual instruction on the side. 

Freshmen Faces

Several newcomers had solid reps during today's session. Only had a chance to see James Pearce in individual drills, but he looked every bit as explosive as advertised. Both freshmen running backs did some nice things during team period. Christian Harrison, Kaleb Webb, and Squirrel White all had wins over upperclassmen in a release drill. I thought Squirrel probably had the best route of the day on a dig, creating separation then running away from Wesley Walker. Tyre West and Jordan Phillips both looked solid at times, and they appeared to get some individual instruction from Rodney Garner at one point. 

Bru McCoy

As advertised. A genetic freak that should not be able to move as well as he does for his size. He appeared to be in good football shape and took well to coaching as Kelsey Pope and Alex Golesh both offered advice after certain reps. Tennessee needs McCoy eligible. 

OT Battle

In team, and this means nothing at this stage because they all got work in, but Jeremiah Crawford got the first snaps at left tackle. He was solid, but so were the others during their chances. Glenn Elarbee worked each guy hard during group period. 

Wide Receivers 

As expected there were some drops today, but overall, this group seems to have taken strides since the spring. I asked Hendon Hooker specifically about Ramel Keyton for reason yesterday, because if Bru McCoy is not eligible, then Keyton will be a vital part of this offense. He took the top off Kamal Hadden on play one of team period, but Hooker under threw him. Keyton also received individual praise during 1v1s. Jalin Hyatt left Wesley Walker wondering where he was on an outbreaking route and ran a physical route against Jaylen McCollough to pull in a contested catch across the middle. 

Secondary rotation

Flowers and McCollough started as the high safeties with McDonald at the star with Burrell and Hadden at corner, while Turnage quickly worked in. Andre Turrentine and Wesley Walker ran with the twos during our limited team viewing period. Turrentine had a nice PBU on a dig route. If Tennessee can rely on him in the secondary rotation, it would be huge. Cam Miller worked at safety today. We reported earlier in the off season he was expected to make that move. 

Linebackers

Jeremy Banks and Beasley started at inside linebacker with Page and Mitchell coming in second. Elijah Herring was in the third grouping. I felt like this group appeared to move around better to start the day. They were banged up heavily at times last fall, but they were able to fly around today. 

Defensive Line/Edge

Omari Thomas, Da'Jon Terry, Byron Young and Tyler Baron all caught my attention toady. Garner and Ekeler are demanding more of this unit this year, and all of these guys were vocal leaders and demanding perfection as well. Heupel started his day with this group and circled back to them at times through our viewing period. Latrell Bumphus is back and looks healthy. He could be a depth piece the Vols can utilize in a pinch. I thought Kurrott Garland looked more like an SEC defensive lineman this year as well. 

Quarterbacks

Can't get out without talking about the signal-callers. Hendon Hooker was crisp working across the middle and looked confident, but he missed Keyton on a walk-in touchdown to start team period, as I mentioned above. Otherwise, he was his normal self today. Joe Milton has received all kinds of praise this off-season and it is easy to see why. He has made strides, especially mentally. His arm is still as live as ever, but other aspects of his game appear to be clicking, including some mechanical adjustments Tennessee's staff has made. Tayven Jackson is smooth as a thrower, but when we got to see live bullets, his third-team OL did not offer him much time to do anything today.