chiseled upper body and soft hands are what he’s looking for in a receiver. Length is also a high priority.

Via email from Knoxvillain, a very detailed practice report and a couple of pics:
1. Eric Berry didn’t participate after 7 on 7
2. Lane Kiffin, no matter what string was in, had to constantly tell people where to be. I’m sure they added some new stuff and that’s why, it was just a little frustrating to see.
3. The QBs didn’t mix strings. JC played all the 1st team snaps, BJC and NS split with the 2nd team. BJC got a lot more reps than NS b/c he sustained drives.
4. The QBs didn’t wear green jerseys, but the DL could not hit them. There were a couple of times they let a play go where I think they should have called it a sack, but didn’t.
5. All drives started on the offenses own side of the field.
6. There didn’t seem to be any specific “work” going on. Meaning, there wasn’t a bunch of screens or anythign like that. A lot of down the field throws, only a couple of side to sides.

Scoring stuff
1. The first TD was a short run, result of a long drive by the 2nd team and BJC.
2. The safety was a result of C Walker getting good pressure coupled with JC holding on too long
3. Moore’s TD was about a 30 yard TD with about 25 YAC. From BJC
4. Stephens’ TD was a pass where the DB fell and Hancock was alone.
5. FG was result of 1st team’s only real “drive”, ending in throw away.
6. BJC hit Ben Bart for wide open TD after PA drew the LB in.

I didn’t do anything really on the goal line work. I think I heard Coach Kiffin say they scored 5 of 5 times on goal line though.

The positive things/players that stood out to me:
1. Without a doubt, Chris Walker. I cannot tell you how excited Vol fans should be about this young man for the upcoming season. He not only beat his man almost every play, he was always around the ball. Everytime the 1st team defense came off the field, people were high fiving C-Walk, b/c he was in on everything. I met him personally for the 1st time today, he’s a very, very nice young man and I’m proud he’s been on my show.

2. If you are worried about Nick Reveiz at MLB, STOP! This kid is amazing. He was also in on almost every play, he was always in the right spot on passes and deflected a few balls. He was easily the best LB in the group, on any string, and was clearly the “leader” of the defense w/o Eric Berry out there.

3. Montori Hughes. To be so young, and not highly regarded, Hughes is beating people up almost every play. Montori got immediate penetration several times, against McNeil and others, and blew plays up repeatedly. He was also surprising quick on his feet while chasing the QB on the rollout, since the far DT is usually left unblocked since most coaches don’t plan on them catching the QB.

4. At times, when the RBs had holes, they were able to explode through them and gain big yards. I was very impressed with Tauren Poole’s ability to make guys miss in the open field, and was impressed by Toney Williams ability to drive a pack a few more yards. Williams never fell backwards, not one time. On the fumble, someone missed a block and he was gang tackled, and got stripped, the best I can remember.

5. Quentin Hancock seemed to get good seperation and caught everything possible. Both QBs made a couple of his catches a littel hard on him, but he reeled them in, and a couple of times fought hard for YAC, which is something UT has missed severely.

Negatives:
1. I have no doubt the DL is very, very good, but the talent on the OL is abysmal. There were several plays where Crompton was pressured before his 3rd step, and others where the RB’s were hit as soon as they took the handoff. It’s hard to be able to tell you who individually did or didn’t do their job b/c I can’t watch everything, but I can tell you that both the tackles got beat on nearly every pass play against the 1st team defense.

2. For whatever reason, the team still doesn’t move with Crompton in the game. Maybe it’s the 1st team defense, I don’t know. It’s impossible to tell until you put a different QB in with the 1st teamers against the 1st teamers. I counted about 6 sacks by the 1st team defense, and while 1 or 2 of those came from pressure too quick, a few came from Crompton holding onto the ball way too long. The WRs weren’t “wide” open against man coverage and I can’t know his reads, so it may not be him, but it seems to be a trend that’s continuing, so I can only assume he shoulders part of the blame. Also, his fumble came on a play where pressure was coming, and he went to throw the ball and then tried to hold onto it, as he brought his arm back, he was bumped, causing the fumble, at least that’s how I saw it.

3. Depth is going to be a big issue on both sides. Nick Stephens threw two pretty balls that were stone cold drops.. BJC had a ball or two dropped and so did JC. When Jones, Hancock and Rogers weren’t on the field, it was a crapshoot at whether the ball would be caught or not. Moore looked great at times, but even he dropped a couple.

4. I’m a little worried about pass coverage. It doesn’t show up big in our scrimmages b/c UT doesn’t throw the ball well right now, but there were a couple times when things were on time, and someone was WIDE open against the cover 2. From my point of view, the guy who seemed to be the most out of position was Art Evans, but again, I don’t know the call 100% for sure, so take it FWIW. Also, Rod Wilks never looked like he knew where to be.

I wrote down every single play, so here’s some “stats” if you want to call them that.

1. I counted 8 possession for the 1s. I may have missed 1 or 2. But they had 3 points, a turnover and a safety.
2. I counted 8 possessions for the 2s. BJC was QB for 5 of them by my count, and those drives resulted in 1 short missed FG, 1 made FG, and 3 TDs. Nick was in for 3 of them, and 1 of his ended in a TD and he was the victim of the fumble.
3. There was some really good YAC. Both from the WRs and the RBs. Both groups turned and ran with the ball fairly well, and made defenders that seemingly had them wrapped up, miss.

Overall, I walked away realizing that in some ways, Crompton is at a disadvantage. I still don’t think he is the best QB on the roster, but I think there’s no way to know that until we get to see BJ or NIck up against that talented DL. There is a long way to go on offense. A very long way. BJ, at times, wasn’t pretty, but he kept drives going while he was on the field, and he didn’t turn it over. He got lucky on one play, where it was 3rd and long, and he locked onto a WR and nearly threw a pick, but the DB couldn’t quite get there. I can’t say if it was b/c it was 2nd team or not, I can only go with what I saw.

At RB, Poole was the most impressive, followed by Hardest and then Williams. I haven’t looked at the stats closely, but I would guess Williams got the most carries. RB is not a position I’m concerned with at all, they are a good group now, and will only get better with the arrival of Brown and Oku.

The WR/TEs, overally, were’nt too bad, but didn’t stand out either. Jones and Moore both made great moves to get some good YAC and Hancock stood out above them all as the “go to” guy, but Rogers, Warren and someone else HAS to step up IMO. Todd Campbell dropped a couple balls. The RBs and TEs caught some good short passes. I was really encouraged by Ben Bartholemew and Austin Johnson. Both caught tough balls in traffic, got nailed and hung on.

The OL has light years to go. The 1st team got whipped consistently and at times, it was a little embarrassing for them I’m sure. I think James Stone picked a great day to come, b/c I’m sure he could see for himself, he’d get on the field fast. The 2nd team didn’t do bad at all. They consistently opened holes and protected the QBs sufficiently. Again, my be b/c of a dropoff in talent on the DL, but again, we can only judge with what we see.

The DL was the standout group easily. I spent a lot of time talking to Jacquez Smith while watching them warm up and we were both amazed at the sheer size and speed of Walker, Martin, Williams, Hughes and G. Williams. I hate to go out on limbs, but this may be the best DL at UT since 2001, at least the 1st teamers anyway.

The LBs looked ok overall. There were several missed tackles by anyone not named Reveiz, and at times, the holes in the zone that were getting thrown at were supposed to have LBs at least close to them, I would think. By the time fall rolls around, I think UT will be pretty deep at LB and it will be a pleasant surprise for everyone.

The DBs… I have to admit, I didn’t watch the safeties very closely. My eyes have been kinda trained to not even worry about that position since Berry has been here. And not knowing the play call, I hate to call any individuals out, b/c you never know who blows the coverage unless you know the coverage. But, I will say this, I can tell who I didn’t see get burned. Fleming seemed like he was always in position, and Raines and Waggner seemed that way as well. I did notice that Rogan seems to be buried. I don’t know why, he didn’t get beat today, but I didn’t see him with the 1st team at all, but maybe that was just me.

The kicking game is a concern. They didn’t kick much, but when you watched the kickers warm up and the punters punt, it just wasn’t very encouraging.