University of Tennessee Athletics
Open Practice Once Again Key For Vols
August 15, 2015 | Football
Aug. 15, 2015
UTSports.com
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.
-- A night that was originally born from an idea from none other than Peyton Manning celebrated its third anniversary on Saturday.Vol Nation once again demonstrated its incredible support for Tennessee football as the Volunteers hosted 40,000 fans at Neyland Stadium for the annual open practice.
"To see 40,000 fans turn out for an open practice," head coach Butch Jones said. "That's a great illustration to all the nation of how important Tennessee football is, but really for our players to see what they represent on a daily basis on the field and off the field."
Fans got a true look into what goes on during one of Butch Jones' practices, as the session was laid out in the same way as the other workouts during fall camp. There were individual drills, competitions and situational team work.
All of those things the players are used to. They aren't used to doing it in front of an audience.
"It was fun, it just brings out a little change of pace in practice," quarterback Joshua Dobbs said. "We're out on the practice field day after day, which gets a little tiring. Coming out here and being able to be in front of our fans, it was a great turnout, a great change of pace and great for our freshmen to be introduced to our fans."
Opening the doors of Neyland Stadium for a practice is a great opportunity for the fans to see a first glimpse of the team they will cheer on this season. It is also an opportunity for the coaches to see how a player will react when the lights come on.
That is where the idea of an open practice had its origin prior to Jones' first season at Tennessee. With no preseason games on the schedule for college teams, being able to put fans in the stands creates a unique opportunity for coaches to gauge a player's ability to respond under pressure.
"It was a great evaluation tool for us," Jones said. "You can't simulate putting people in the stands and to put 40,000 in the stands and then to go out and compete, it's a great evaluation tool when you're a young football team like we are."
Defensive lineman Derek Barnett debuted in front of the open practice crowd a season ago before rewriting the Tennessee freshman record books. He felt the players now in the situation he was a year ago benefitted most from the experience.
"It's a good feeling to have this many people come out to watch us practice," Barnett said. "I think it was really good for our young guys so they could get a feel for how many people really come to games."
It was not the only time the Vols hit the field on Saturday. As scheduled, it was the second practice of UT's second two-a-day of training camp.
With the team's mantra of getting 1 percent better every practice, Tennessee had the opportunity to double that Saturday. In Jones' eyes, it was mission accomplished. How the team comes back for a single session tomorrow will be just as important.
"I thought we got 2 percent better today," Jones said. "Now, the challenge for this football team is how do we respond tomorrow? We have an afternoon practice and we have to bounce back. This is where you find out about your leadership and the grit of your football team, coming back from such a great night and then going into the Anderson Training Center and practicing in front of nobody. We really have to move forward."
