Tennessee Football: Week 2 Spring Practice Stock Report

KNOXVILLE—The lights weren't on, and 102,000 fans weren't in Neyland Stadium when the Tennessee football team took part in Saturday's scrimmage-like settings.

Alvin Kamara showed out anyway.

After a torrid spring start, it appears to be a sign of things to come for the running back.

When the first-team offense initially took the field, Kamara got things going by bouncing a run outside and down the sideline for a big gain. A few plays later on a 4th-and-goal from the 1, he powered his way over the goal line.

It was the start of a big day.

"I love the way Alvin's been running all spring," Vols sophomore guard Jashon Robertson said. "We talked about it today. I told him, 'Look, man, we're gonna come out here, and you're gonna get 150 rushing yards in this scrimmage, two touchdowns and 50 receiving yards.'"

Though stats weren't kept, the universal praise Kamara received was a dead giveaway that his impact was evident. With incumbent starter Jalen Hurd being held out of contact, it's Kamara's team right now.

While coach Butch Jones has had nothing but glowing remarks regarding Kamara thus far a year removed from gushing over Hurd, there just aren't enough bodies at the position right now to get through the spring.

"I wish we had more than two," Jones said. "In this conference, you need a number of running backs, and we've been limited at that position. But we have two quality backs in Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara, but depth is a real, real concern there. And it continues to be a concern. We're going to have to play some true freshmen as well who aren't here right now.

"We need to continue to recruit and develop that position, but I'm excited about those two individuals."

Kamara has battled through some ankle injuries this spring, refusing to relinquish the opportunity to prove that he deserved to be the nation's second-rated JUCO running back.

He may wind up being the best.

Kamara has visions of he and Hurd running things once the big-bodied fellow sophomore gets fully recharged.

"Oh, yeah. It's exciting, 'cause me and Jalen kind of feed off each other, and even though today Jalen was no contact, he's sitting there exciting that I’m out there running. And then I'm excited like he's about to go in," Kamara said. "It's fun. It's gonna be real fun when he's full-go and both us are on the field together."

The Vols can't wait.

Young Defensive Backs Gaining Praise

Credit: 247Sports

There are always spring surprises, but Jones signaled out a duo of youngsters who haven't gotten a ton of publicity for their work in the defensive backfield.

Evan Berry hauled in a pair of interceptions during Saturday's scrimmage, and after a year of being worked on a variety of special teams, it looks like he could be carving a niche as a backup safety.

That's great news for UT considering Brian Randolph and LaDarrell McNeil are rising seniors, and the Vols need somebody to step up to team with Todd Kelly Jr. next year. They also need depth this season, and the younger brother of the program's best-ever safety (Eric Berry) would be an ideal fit.

Though the younger Berry hasn't been the superstar his older brother was, he's coming on.

"It's been a work in progress," Jones said. "There have been good days; there have been days that have been better than others.

"One thing about Evan is he’s extremely competitive, and you saw that today. We all know he can run. Now, it’s being able to have the instincts, you know, understanding offensive schemes, what they're trying to approach and just letting it go. I thought today he played downhill."

A more immediate, pressing concern is who is going to replace Justin Coleman at the all-important nickelback position this year.

Sophomore Rashaan Gaulden is a logical fit, and he is a player who continues to progress. If he can slide into that spot and win the job, it will give the Vols a nice, young player who can anchor their defense for the next few years.

When asked when the coaching staff identified the sophomore as a player who could take over for Coleman this year, Jones didn't hesitate. They'd thought Gaulden could play nickel ever since he was recruited.

"Right away," the coach said. "Rashaan is a very talented individual. He can run, he's very explosive, he can hit, he can cover. The big thing with him with being a young football (player) is just the overall discipline of that position. Within the nickel position, there's so much that goes into it. You have to be able to play zone coverage, re-route wide outs, you have to be able to play man-to-man coverage, you have to be able to set the edge of your defense, you have to understand the different blitz checks and blitz patterns. So, it's a mental part of it.

"Justin was able to handle it because of his skill set but also his maturity level. Rashaan has that same skill set. It's just the maturity level of continuing to retain information and just being disciplined, and we've been very pleased with Rashaan Gaulden's progress."

With that trio of young DBs on deck for the Vols, it's hard not to be excited about the fast-lane future of the defensive backfield.

Weatherd Moving Down

Credit: 247Sports

Rising senior Chris Weatherd is an outside linebacker no more.

With the team desperately needing defensive linemen this spring and with Weatherd's innate ability to get to quarterbacks, the Vols have moved him exclusively to defensive end for now.

How that affects his playing time once Derek Barnett and Curt Maggitt return to the field remains to be seen, but for now, UT's 6'4", 217-pound pass-rushing specialist is playing with his hand down and a fixture in defensive line meeting rooms.

Grasping the defensive concepts hasn't been the easiest thing for Weatherd during his time in Knoxville, and Jones noted Saturday that this move will allow "his natural skill set, his natural abilities to come into play and just kind of line up and play football."

Rocky Top Roundup

• Jones told GoVols247's Ryan Callahan this week that mid-term freshman quarterback Quinten Dormady is making "tremendous progress" this spring. If the season started today, he'd almost assuredly be Joshua Dobbs' backup, or it certainly seems that way considering the number of second-team reps he's gotten.
• This was an extremely good week for rising sophomore Josh Malone, who was praised by UT wide receivers coach and passing-game coordinator Zach Azzanni on Thursday before coming out and making several plays in Saturday's action. Malone was one of the players who spoke to the media on Saturday, and it's huge for the Vols if he continues to develop since he's one of the team's most talented players.

• New Tennessee head basketball coach Rick Barnes took in Saturday's scrimmage-like setting in Neyland Stadium, and he was introduced to UT legendary player and coach Johnny Majors, along with others.

All statistics gathered from UTSports.com unless otherwise noted. Quotes and observations obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.

Brad Shepard covers SEC football and is the Tennessee Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. Follow Brad on Twitter @Brad_Shepard.