Tennessee Football: Week 3 Spring Practice Stock Report

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Not every spring practice is perfect, and that certainly extends to a Tennessee football team that has had a near-month of praise-filled drills despite being extremely short-handed thanks to injuries.

But a week after the refrain was refreshing around the Vols' progress, Saturday brought a particularly perturbed coach Butch Jones after a subpar practice.

Though much of spring has centered around the emergence of some fresh faces (such as Alvin Kamara and Shy Tuttle) and the development of quarterback Joshua Dobbs, some little-used contributors have begun to take serious strides toward helping the Vols in 2015.

Last week, Jones praised defensive backs Rashaan Gaulden and Evan Berry. This week, two more had done enough to get public recognition.

All that and more will be discussed in this week's stock report.

Saturday's Malaise 

All the hurt players have seriously hindered UT's ability to participate in game-like situations this spring, but that hadn't damped the team's ability to install much of the concepts from new offensive coordinator Mike DeBord or turn up the tempo.

"We're pushing tempo, and people know the plays like the back of their hand and more than they did last year, so we're able to go faster and do things on offense," Dobbs told B/R last week. "We're installing various concepts and stuff, so we're definitely growing as an offense and growing the arsenal we have.

"Tempo, that's something that's always been a part of our offense. We're picking that even more this offseason."

What a difference in tone a week makes.

With Kamara missing his third consecutive practice with a thigh bruise and other offensive weapons missing, the Vols failed to please their coach on Saturday.

In situational work and under difficult circumstances that any team will face during the course of its season, they struggled to perform.

"I did not like our offense's approach," Jones told the Chattanooga Times Free-Press' Patrick Brown. "I thought we were stale. I thought we had no mental effort. I thought we had no intensity about ourselves, and I think it showed.

"We started off putting them in some demanding situations."

UT didn't fare very well in those, reportedly. But the injuries can't be discounted. With Jalen Hurd limited this spring, Kamara and Dobbs generated the most positive publicity among offensive players. With Kamara out, the offense sputtered.

The Vols miss the running backs a lot when they aren't out there, but Jones indicated Kamara's injury isn't anything to worry about.

Despite his general unhappiness with the way the Vols handled every situation, Jones noted the practice was productive because of the varying situations in which his team gained experience.

Even so, Dobbs wasn't real chipper when asked about the general sloppiness of the passing game or about drops, according to GoVols247's Wes Rucker. It has been a long spring with injuries and trying to push through short-handed, and maybe it got to him a little after a less-than-stellar day.

Defensive Duo Making a Move

Injuries have equaled opportunities this spring, and it isn't just newcomers taking advantage.

Most of the excitement entering the spring centered around redshirt freshman Dillon Bates moving to middle linebacker to perhaps seize a wide-open spot and solidify that position for the next few years. 

Gavin Bryant was another redshirt freshman everybody wanted to see, and while true freshman Darrin Kirkland Jr. is out with an injury, he is expected to have a say-so in that race before the season starts.

Bates isn't yet healthy, however, and he has yet to wrestle the job away from redshirt junior Kenny Bynum, who started in the place of Jakob Johnson in the TaxSlayer Bowl and hasn't relinquished the job yet.

The 6'1", 243-pound linebacker isn't anywhere near the most athletic of the bunch, but Jones said, via Volquest's Twitter account, that his knowledge of the defense and ability to get everybody lined up are major assets in his attempt to win the job.

Another player who's a bit of a forgotten man in the defensive tackle battle is Kendal Vickers.

The 6'3", 288-pound former defensive end has worked on his body all offseason to take advantage of a wide-open opportunity to help inside, and he continues to make good on a storybook career.

Vickers was an extremely late addition to Jones' first recruiting class at Tennessee as a lightly recruited defensive end out of Havelock, North Carolina.

Though UT wound up getting a higher-ranked prospect from the same school in Derrell Scott last year, the running back already has transferred while Vickers stuck around.

He may be rewarded with playing time. 

With Danny O'Brien missing the spring, Vickers has joined Tuttle as players who are turning heads on the interior. Jones told GoVols247's Ryan Callahan that Vickers' success stems from a technical improvement— he's using his hands more:

"

And he's starting to really use his athletic ability, and he's very explosive. That shows in the weight room. But now it's transferring the weight room onto the football field, and he's been able to do that. Now you're starting to see the volume of repetitions really starting to improve his play.

He's very prideful, but I can see his first step off the football. He's playing with much more explosiveness. He's playing with much more confidence, and he’s using his hands and his technique better.

"

Shoring up the middle of its defense is the biggest question mark on that side of the ball for Tennessee. Everybody may be talking about elite recruits such as Kirkland and Kahlil McKenzie, but it never hurts to have players improving who have been in the defense for a number of years.

Bynum is going into his fourth season at UT, and Vickers is entering his third. Getting them to consistently play well is huge for coordinator John Jancek's defense.

Mixed Bag for Blair

Credit: 247Sports

One of the brightest spotlights the past two seasons on any player has stayed firmly on former 4-star JUCO offensive tackle Dontavius Blair.

At 6'8", 300 pounds, he certainly looks the part. But after a redshirt season a year ago, he still hasn't cracked the starting rotation. Knoxville native Brett Kendrick has enjoyed a stout spring at right tackle, and when Coleman Thomas returns from his suspension, he should be in the mix for snaps, too.

Then this summer, instate recruiting star Drew Richmond gets to campus, and he will battle for the job, too.

But everybody's wondering about Blair, and whether he'll ever really be able to help the Vols.

Offensive line coach Don Mahoney told GoVols247's Callahan this week that Blair must be more consistent:

"

I told him the thing he needs to focus on is just working to get better each and every day, and he's got to be a guy that is providing us valuable play. He's more focused right now than he's been because of the hype and all that, that came into this thing.

Now it’s just a matter of staying focused. Eliminate the clutter and focus on what you need to. He's not as consistent as he needs to (be). That's the thing that's frustrating both he and I right now that has got to improve. 

He's one that he's got to be technically and fundamentally (sound) and fanatical with the way he plays, and it's not as consistent as it needs to be right now, so that’s what we’re working toward.

 

"

Rocky Top Roundup

Credit: 247Sports

• One of the biggest objects of obsession for UT fans is Hurd, so when it was reported that the rising sophomore running back who's been limited this spring is between 235-240 pounds and hasn't lost a step, it was big news. 

• Spring practice is serious business, but that doesn't mean there can't be a little good-natured ribbing, especially between coaches. So, it was an extremely popular retweet this week when UT tight ends/special teams coach Mark Elder tweeted a video that showed offensive line coach Mahoney falling to the ground with an apparent calf cramp.

• After missing all of last season, UT receiver Cody Blanc suffered another setback this spring. He will miss the remainder of drills after breaking ribs, according to Jones.
• Former Vols coach Johnny Majors offered a couple of hilarious soundbites on Saturday directed at the media.

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.