KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee’s depth chart for its game against No. 10 Missouri is identical to the one released last week.
See the full depth chart here.
Justin Worley continues to be listed as the starting quarterback, with freshmen Josh Dobbs and Riley Ferguson bracketed as backups.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — One day after Butch Jones reopened the race for Tennessee’s starting quarterback job, he also decided to keep any secrets from leaking out about who the choice might be.
For the first time in recent memory, media were not allowed to video or photograph Tennessee’s practice on Tuesday. Jones allowed reporters to watch a small window of practice, but it offered no clue about the Vols’ quarterback race.
Unlike last week, when freshman Josh Dobbs worked with the scout team, all four quarterbacks were working out with the main unit.
Dobbs and fellow true freshman Riley Ferguson are pushing for playing time against starter Justin Worley and redshirt freshman backup Nathan Peterman.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Nothing gets Butch Jones fired up like poor special teams play, and there was enough of it Friday afternoon to get some good “angry Butch” shots.
You can read all about the practice, including Jones’ praise for freshman quarterback Riley Ferguson, here.
For image captions, click the photo to go to Instagram.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Butch Jones says there are no off-days in August, which unfortunately proved true for me on Thursday.
But while the Vols had meetings and weight-lifting, they didn’t practice on Thursday.
Tennessee practices on Friday afternoon at Haslam Field. On Saturday, the Vols will have a morning session at Haslam before moving over to Neyland Stadium for a closed scrimmage in the evening.
We’ll have plenty of coverage to come down. In the meantime, here are some images from the last two practices.
Tennessee offensive line coach Don Mahoney instructs players during practice at Haslam Field on Aug. 5, 2013, in Knoxville. (Photos by Evan Woodbery)
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Tennessee did some team work in the early session of Monday afternoon’s practice. The brief window offered few concrete details, but did reinforce how difficult it is for freshmen quarterbacks to win a starting job in August.
We’ll have more after we talk to coach Butch Jones and players later this evening.
* Among the notable plays from our view of the team work was a bad snap by third-string center Dylan Wiesman, a freshman, that sent quarterback Riley Ferguson scrambling after the ball.
Ferguson later threw an interception right in the numbers of safety Tino Thomas.
Co-third-team quarterback Josh Dobbs didn’t fare better, as he dropped a snap that hit off his hands in the last play we saw of the team drills before we had to leave for the evening.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — The Vols will retake the field for their second practice of training camp at about 3:40 p.m. this afternoon.
In the meantime, check out our collection of videos from the first day, including some shots of newcomers Josh Dobbs, Riley Ferguson and MarQuez North (above).
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — A steamy late afternoon practice at Haslam Field is in the books.
Here are some hastily assembled observations from the open media session. We’ll have more after we talk to players and coaches in a few minutes…
* We saw a lot of veterans trying to help out the younger players. In particular I noticed Jacob Carter helping out some of the freshmen. When freshman Ryan Jenkins messed up on a drill, receivers coach Zach Azzanni said something like, “It’s not your fault,” and implied that players needed to help each other along in the drills.
* Freshman quarterback Josh Dobbs looks a lot more like a football player when he’s in a jersey. He looked incredibly skinny when he was on the sidelines watching practice in street clothes this spring, and he could still add some pounds. But he didn’t look out of place among the other quarterbacks.
* As for Dobbs and fellow freshmen Riley Ferguson, I don’t think we saw enough in Day 1 to register any sort of informed opinion. They weren’t asked to do a lot — at least not while we watching.
* We saw a lot of young guys working on fielding returns, including receiver Josh Smith and defensive back Malik Foreman.
* Walk-on running back Justus Pickett, a Maryland transfer, was working out with his teammates. We’ll see if we get any clarification on his status this weekend.
Connor Brewer plans to transfer from Texas (photo from KNS partner 247Sports)
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Connor Brewer, a highly recruited prep quarterback who signed with Texas in 2012, is back on the market.
Several teams have expressed interest, including Tennessee, but Brewer has said that has his choice might take time.
Brewer would presumably like to be at his new school for the start of fall camp, which begins on Aug. 1 at Tennessee, although even that deadline is artificial. Brewer will have to sit out the 2013 season, so there’s no urgency for him to arrive at his new school as long as he gets enrolled by the start of classes.
Brewer redshirted in 2012, so he will have three years to play three when he is eligible to play in 2014.
If, hypothetically, Brewer chooses Tennessee (and the Vols agree to take him), where would he fit in?
UT has four scholarship quarterbacks on the roster, plus invited freshman walk-on Charlie High. But only one of those five quarterbacks has any college experience. So the position isn’t a strength.
KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — Fourteen members of the Class of 2013 are on campus and attending class at Tennessee.
Three more will be on their way soon. One probably won’t make it.
Here’s the breakdown on the 23 players who comprised the first class at least partially recruited by new coach Butch Jones.