Tag Archives: Owen Williams

Tennessee reserve defensive tackle Gregory Clark ending career

Gregory Clark (UT photo)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee fifth-year senior defensive tackle Gregory Clark is moving on with his post-college career and won’t be on the Vols’ roster in 2014.

Coach Butch Jones confirmed that Clark was moving on.

A native of Warner Robins, Ga., Clark emerged as a valuable backup on a depleted defensive line in 2013. Pressed into action after Mo Couch was declared ineligible, Clark teamed with Danny O’Brien in the second-team tackle unit.

The 2013 season was the highlight of what had previously been an undistinguished career. Clark redshirted in 2010 and was a little-used reserve in 2011 and 2012.

The Vols could be thin again at defensive tackle, particularly in the spring before reinforcements arrive this summer. Danny O’Brien, Jason Carr and newcomers Owen Williams and Dimarya Mixon are likely to make up the two-deep rotation.

Unofficially, Tennessee now has 84 scholarship players, including players who were believed to sign National Letters of Intent in February. Here’s the complete and fully updated spring roster.

Tennessee football position preview: Defensive line will be deep, but very inexperienced

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The sixth in a series of position-by-position reviews of the Tennessee football team with an eye toward the start of spring practice in March.

Jordan Williams will be the most experienced returning player on the defensive line (photo by Evan Woodbery)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee is losing six seniors who accounted for roughly 70 percent of the team’s snaps on its defensive line.

Some of the team’s most visible leaders are included among that group.

But while the outlook for 2014 is challenging, it’s not entirely hopeless. A large crop of newcomers will be pushed to compete for playing time immediately. Just as important, a group of inexperienced returning players will be asked to seize a fresh opportunity for playing time.

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Among the departing players, Daniel Hood and Daniel McCullers might be among the most difficult to immediately replace. Big tackles usually don’t just arrive on campus. They are grown and develop over time. 

Jacques Smith, Corey Miller and Marlon Walls also capped their careers with solid senior seasons in 2013.

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As Vols wait on word from DaVonte Lambert, a look at UT’s 3 juco signees in the fold (videos)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Junior college defensive end DaVonte Lambert is expected to choose between Tennessee and Auburn at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, but three other signees are already in the fold.

All three of the new Vols could play an important role in 2014. Von Pearson (in the top video) is a 6-foot-3 wideout from Virginia who spent the last two years at California junior college. Along with freshman signee Josh Malone, he’s expected to fight for a spot in the receiver rotation from Day 1.

Offensive tackle Dontavius Blair (below) is a 6-foot-8 giant who the Vols are hoping will lock down one of the five vacancies on the offensive line this spring.

Owen Williams (below) isn’t as highly rated as the first two prospects, but he plays defensive tackle, where the Vols urgently need bodies.

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A look at Tennessee’s recruiting class after adding its 32nd and 33rd members

Butch Jones

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — How does Butch Jones plan to squeeze still more players into this signing class?

See above.

The Vols added their 32nd and 33rd verbal commitments of the 2014 class over the weekend.

As a defensive tackle, Owen Williams fills an area of extreme need for Tennessee. And linebacker Jakob Johnson‘s rating will likely increase as he is evaluated by all the recruiting services.

Still, you can’t help but notice that for now the two new prospects are ranked 31st and 33rd in the 247Sports Composite ratings, which are based on all the major recruiting services.

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Makes you wonder if 30 really is the ironclad limit for this class. We’ll look into that idea in a blog post later this week.

If you’re on a mobile or tablet device and can’t view the charts, click here and here.

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Jakob Johnson, 3-star linebacker originally from Germany, verbally commits to Tennessee

Jakob Johnson (photo from 247Sports)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Jakob Johnson, a linebacker from Florida who grew up in Germany, became the second player to verbally commit to Tennessee on Sunday.

Johnson, listed at 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds, plays at Jean Ribault High in Jacksonville, Fla. He also had offers from Wisconsin, UCF and others.

Earlier on Sunday the Vols added a commitment from junior college defensive tackle Owen Williams.

Johnson’s addition gives the Vols 33 verbal commitments in the 2014 class. Tennessee has 30 scholarships to offer, with five early enrollees counted against the 2013 class.

Johnson had played American football in Stuttgart, Germany, and moved to Florida for his senior year of football in the hopes of securing a college scholarship.

Owen Williams, 3-star juco defensive tackle, verbally commits to Tennessee

Owen Williams (photo from 247Sports)

KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Owen Williams, a three-star defensive tackle from Butler (Kan.) Community College verbally committed to Tennessee on Sunday, according to News Sentinel partner GoVols247 and other media.

Williams, a native of Macon, Ga., was previously committed to Texas Tech.

Listed as 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds, Williams took an official visit to campus this weekend. He has said that he plans to enroll in January.

Williams is the 32nd member of Tennessee’s 2014 class. The Vols can sign up to 30 by counting five early enrollees against the 2013 class and taking the full 25 in this year’s group.

Butch Jones has used the phrase “brick by brick” to describe the rebuilding process at Tennessee.