By Vince Ferrara

Here are some of my observations and notes from the 13th University of Tennessee spring football practice that was held indoors.

Vince’s View
*We were able to view stretching and the first four periods of practice #13 on Tuesday.

*We only were able to see a moment or two of the quarterbacks throwing. Generally, Dormady and Guarantano were on the money, but they were throwing short routes. You can see practice video of that HERE.

*S Todd Kelly Jr. was back in full pads participating in practice after being limited recently.

*WR Brandon Johnson continues to participate in practice after being ruled out before spring practice began. He told WR coach Kevin Beard he could practice. Beard asked the trainers if they could get him cleared. He was cleared, and has been participating since.

*RB John Kelly was not a practice participant during our viewing periods. Butch Jones said a lot of it is precautionary and they have to get him ready for a long season. As to whether he’ll take part in the spring game activities, Butch Jones said “we’ll see where he’s at and make a determination.” I think Ty Chandler walks in this summer as the number two guy as a true freshman with Carlin Fils-aime as a spot third option.

*It’s impressive to see so many of the guys that have been either out or limited in spring practice still do what they can with their teammates…stretching, walk-through reps, etc. Those players include Phillips, Gaulden, Sapp, Abernathy, Evan Berry, Jack Jones, Sheriron Jones, Vickers, Kendrick, Jumper, Moseley and others.

*Indoor practices always give us a closer look at the players, especially the defensive line group that normally is the farthest away from when outside from where we’re allowed to be during viewing periods.

*We saw the d-linemen do a drill that is similar to one you see at the NFL Combine, although not exactly the same. The defensive linemen had to bend, slap the pad on the ground, raise up in stance, shuffle down the line and repeat with each pad then finish. You can see practice video of that HERE.

*DL coach Brady Hoke has his hands full trying to get guys on the defensive line ready that normally would be given time to develop. His group will get healthier in the fall, but will also get younger with five summer enrolls added to the group. Young, injured and playing below expectations is how this group is summarized right now until they prove otherwise during the season.

Spend some time on our website where we’ll have blogs from Jimmy Hyams, practice reports from Josh Ward, interviews with players and coaches, videos of practice footage. Scroll through our big stories on the main page or click on the Vols tab under “All WNML stories” archived to find all of our posts saved there.