University of Tennessee Athletics
#VolReport: Training Camp Day 1
August 04, 2015 | Football
Aug. 4, 2015
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee made its long-awaited return to the gridiron on Tuesday evening as it opened up its preseason training camp at Haslam Field.
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With the familiar sound of the blown air horn ringing across Haslam Field, Tennessee was back to work ...Read more
SOUND BITES
- JUNIOR QB Joshua Dobbs
(On if the team picked up from where it left off in spring)
"Definitely, we were high energy and had good tempo and pace. We didn't have a lot of team periods today, but we pushed the tempo, so we built off that from the spring. It's exciting as we grow in [the training room] and guys get back into the swing of things and start to grasp the offense, so we can start putting in new things. We talk all the time about being `fast and furious' with a high tempo, so we have to practice like that."
(On competition)
"I think it is great. It pushes people to be their best, especially when they're fighting for a playing position. They guys are out there competing, and we will definitely get the best guys at each position with completion. It's definitely exciting to see all of the depth we had out there. We had a lot of receivers out there, which was different from the spring. Guys are pushing each other, but they are also teaching each other. That is what you hope to see."
- RS SENIOR LB/DL Curt Maggitt
(On how the expectations have changed within the team)
"Every season we go in with high expectations, and it starts every day. We want to build every day, we talk about one percent every day. So we've got high expectations, but we know it's going to take time. We don't want to be at our max potential on the first day, so we're still building."
(On how things have run smoother with players in their second and third years under Coach Jones)
"Everybody understands the expectations, and we're trying to set the standard even higher. Like I said, this first day was a lot better than last year, just because we're further along in the install, and we're allowed to go faster with some things. We've got guys like Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cam Sutton, Derek Barnett, Brian Randolph, just to name a couple leaders. Some guys like me that have been here a long time. We know what the expectation is and we're keeping everybody going."
- RS JUNIOR WR Jason Croom
(On Jauan Jennings' first practice)
"He knows his stuff. He came out and made some good plays today. We look forward to him continuing to learn stuff and play wherever he is wanted. When he was called on by Coach he knew all of his plays. He's catching on real quick. You know, he was a quarterback before. As a QB you gotta learn that stuff. It's exciting that he came and knew his stuff. He just fit right in."
(On how different this season if from 2014)
"My entire team worked hard. Everybody is on the same page. Everybody is pushing each other to get better and make plays on the field. We've got a lot of experience now. We're bringing the younger guys along with us."
- SOPHOMORE DL Derek Barnett
(On how his mindset has changed over the last year)
"I'm different because I understand the game better. The schemes, the offensive line, everything. That's because Coach Strip, and guys like OB (Danny O'Brien) and Curt (Maggitt) would be like `you need to improve your game, and improve it mentally', so that's what I did."
(On what keeps him motivated)
"I just love football. When I'm on the field I just love flying around and hitting. That's what motivates me really, just playing ball. And Devaun Swafford, the game was taken away from him just like that. I think about that all the time, I'm just like `I've got to go hard every play."
Head coach Butch Jones expressed pleasure with how the first day unfolded, but was quick to remind the media in his post-practice presser that Team 119 still has a ways to go before it opens up the season on Sept. 5 in Nashville.
"We have a lot, a lot of work to do but it was a long day for our players and I thought they handled it well," said third-year head coach Butch Jones. "We talk about being a tough football team and part of it is emotionally and mentally, with a full day of classes, meetings in the morning and having a couple of meals before coming out for an evening practice. I liked their intensity."
Jones did not hesitate to list a string of criterion he expects to be addressed before his football team can be considered in prime condition, chief among them the concepts of retention and installation.
"I thought for the most part, our older players did a good job [with retention from the meetings to the classroom]," he said. "I thought our younger players, for their first time and with the volume of installation, that they handled it pretty well. Now, as we all know, it's the progression of training camp ... so we have to make sure that they are in their playbooks and that they're also balancing their academic workload."
Still, the third-year headman noticed a keen difference in his team's speed, particularly in the backfield, when comparing last season's opening camp to this one. Jalen Hurd and Alvin Kamara as a tandem continue to incite exciting prospects while Ralph David Abernathy IV, Joe Young, and John Kelly only add to the bevy of anticipated quickness. Similarly, Jones noted a heightened sense of cultural maturity about his squad--a theme that is sure to continue throughout the spring.
Barnett Still Improving
After a breakout rookie season in 2014, defensive end Derek Barnett's name is showing up on several preseason watch lists, including the Nagurski Trophy and the Bednarik Award. Barnett says that his confidence has grown over the last year and he can improve on a freshman campaign in which he posted 72 tackles along with UT rookie records of 10.0 sacks and 20.5 tackles for loss.
"I missed a bunch of sacks," Barnett said. "I think I need to get better with my hands and more pass rush moves."
The Nashville native's strength has improved after recovering from a shoulder injury and his mental game matured from a year of playing experience.
"I just understand what tackles are going to do now and I can read what they are going to do before the play is called," he said.
Sutton Makes Most of Leadership Opportunity
Head coach Butch Jones continued to survey the maturation of his football team after the opening day of training camp, and was quick to focus on junior defensive back Cameron Sutton as a chief instigator in that growth. Sutton, who has admittedly aimed to take on a stronger leadership role within his defensive unit, put action to words on Tuesday when he made the most of what Jones described as a very particular "leadership opportunity."
"We had a great leadership opportunity [today] and Cam Sutton took full advantage of it," recalled Jones. "When our second team defense didn't sprint onto the football field, he called them all back and had them re-huddle and sprint back onto the football field. [Sutton] said, `That's not the way we do things at Tennessee.'"
A member of the preseason watch list for the Chuck Bednarik Award, the former Jonesboro, Georgia, standout said the incident was just the byproduct of the sway his experience and production have bought him.
"There's a lot of new faces on this team," said Sutton. "I'm a leader on this team now where a lot of guys look up to me and I have to embrace that role and keep preaching to the younger guys--and keep preaching to even the older guys--that `this is what we're here for. This why we came to Tennessee.'"
O-Line Drive by Pressure, Depth
The UT offensive line has come a long way over the course of one season. After all five starters from the seasoned 2013 group (Ja'Wuan James, James Stone, Zach Fulton, Antonio Richardson, Alex Bullard) were drafted or signed by NFL teams, last year's o-line battled through inexperience and injuries to anchor the Vols' first bowl-winning team since 2008. Fifth-year senior tackle Kyler Kerbyson says that he and his fellow linemen thrive with the outside pressure placed on them.
"Everyone talks about the skill guys and they are young and they are talented and it is always a question mark with the o-line," Kerbyson said. "I want to show people that we are the glue that holds it together."
Kerbyson believes competition generated by depth has been and continues to be a driving force in the offensive line's improvement.
"I felt like when I was younger, competition with the older guys made them better," he said. "I'm glad to see younger guys making me better."
Taking on a New Role
With less than five weeks until Tennessee kicks off their season against Bowling Green in Nashville, freshman Jauan Jennings found himself changing positions for the start of fall camp.
Jennings, a midterm enrollee, competed with the Vols throughout spring camp as a quarterback, but head coach Butch Jones announced his plans to move Jennings to wide receiver Monday at his opening fall press conference.
"I'm excited about Jauan," Jones said. "You know, he's kind of sipping through a fire hose right now at the wide receiver position, but I see an individual who is a very, very gifted athlete. He is very, very competitive, has very good hands and loves to compete. He made some catches today where you kind of did a double-take, and he got you excited. So, for Day One, I was very, very encouraged with him."
Jennings has already begun to impress his teammates while jumping in at his new position.
"It was different, but it was a good different," junior quarterback Joshua Dobbs said on his newest target. "He had a really good first day. He picked up on all of the stuff well. Obviously, by moving from quarterback, he knew all of the stuff. He was running good routes and showed good hands, so it was exciting."
"Today, [Jauan] did well," fellow wide receiver Jason Croom said. "When he was called on by coach, he knew all of his plays. He's catching on real quick. He was a quarterback before, and as a QB, you have to learn that stuff. It's exciting that he came and knew his stuff. He just fit right in."
Butch Jones Post-Practice Press Conference (Live Blog)
