Tennessee's junior defensive end Derek Barnett has been placed on the Ted Hendricks Award watch list. The award will go to the nation's top defensive end and will be announced on Dec. 7.
photo by UT Athletics
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – On Thursday, Tennessee’s Joshua Dobbs, Jalen Hurd, Jalen Reeves-Maybin, Cameron Sutton and coach Butch Jones met with the media on the Vols’ fourth day of preseason practice.
Joshua Dobbs | QB | Senior
Dobbs spoke about training camp and the upcoming season, touching on the development of the young receivers and quarterbacks, battles along the offensive line and the impact that turnover margin has on winning and losing in the SEC.
"You just see that (our new players) love football and that they want to make an impact now. That's exactly what we need from them. They're going to have to step up and make some plays this year for us. We're watching the film, talking through looks, talking through reads, and trying to find that extra completion, the right place to go with the ball, coverage recognition and everything."
Jalen Hurd | RB | Junior
Hurd, one of the country’s top running backs, did not waste any time preparing for his junior season with the Vols, as he spent the majority of his summer working out through a special program to create more explosive speed, flexibility and use his size as an advantage. Hurd was meeting with the media for the first time during fall camp.
"I was mostly just working on explosion, speed and working on things I don't really get to work on too much around UT. We do a lot of explosive work here, but you always try to find different things that you don't do here and try to implement that into your game when you go away and work out by yourself. Opening my stride up a little more and flexibility was a big key. I did a lot of different training with more core balance. It wasn't a lot of weights. We did a lot of bands and a lot of using your own body weight to create more explosion and speed. I don't see my height as a disadvantage at all. I feel I can do anything that any other running back can do at this level. I think it kind of helps me. I get to see over everybody so that's cool."
Jalen Reeves-Maybin | LB | Senior
With the team beginning to settle in the groove of fall camp, the Vols continue to show off their improvements from years past. Reeves-Maybin took notice of this Wednesday as he watched his teammates perform on Day 3 of the camp.
"With the amount that we have been able to install defensively and the way that the freshmen have been able to catch on to the things we have done, it has been great. Yesterday, I didn't get to do as much because we were in pads, but I got to step back and watch everybody play. I can definitely see improvements from the past years."
Cameron Sutton | DB | Senior
With just three training camp practices in the books, Sutton already sees healthy competition developing at the cornerback, nickel and safety positions. He believes the workers' mentality that each player has every day in practices, meetings and workouts pushes each other to be better.
"It's a healthy competition. We don't care about who's starting or who's taking the first reps and those things. Those things could change each and every day. It's just all about being consistent in your approach. It's a lot of competition. We've got a lot of depth, especially in the secondary, at not just corners and nickels but safeties as well. A lot of guys are stepping up. All our corners are stepping up and have made plays so far in the first couple of days. Our nickels have definitely made a lot of plays just running around on the field and our safeties have as well in the air. Everybody is definitely embracing their roles and stepping up and doing the things they're supposed to do on the field."
Butch Jones | Head Coach
"We are kind of where I thought we would be at. If you did a poll of any coach after practice three, you never think your team is where it needs to be at this particular point in time. We're still in the infant stages of really developing our identity, our habits and fundamentals, our details and what it takes to play winning football. I think they've been lacking a little bit.
"The biggest thing as you enter into practice four is your practice etiquette. You go from helmets, to now shoulder pads and day five is full pads. But them understanding, the progressions and the tempos from tag to thud and the details that go into tag and thud and when we rush the quarterback, running behind the quarterback. I think our pursuit, our overall effort has been good overall as a football team. I think just the overall fundamentals, the details; not looking around, always competing and never comparing with what's going on.
"Also, recovery. Our players are challenged right now with a full academic workload, practice and finding the time to invest in their bodies with recovery. Part of the recovery process is also fatigue, mental fatigue. So again, are you getting 20 minutes of quiet time, what it takes to recharge your batteries, fighting those times? Sacrificing, getting in bed a little bit early? Staying ahead of your academic studies? All of those things go hand-in-hand with the sleep and the hydration and all that. But the mental fatigue as well.
"Like I told our football team this morning, we need to embrace the day. It's a chance to improve our body language, our communication, our toughness with everything that we do, our fundamentals, our details of what it takes to play at a high level on a consistent basis. Those are all the things that we're going through.
"In closing, I think we are kind of where I thought we would be. Now, how do we take the next step and we don't have to be game ready yet, but how do we take the next step with all those things that I just discussed?"
Barnett On Hendricks List
Junior defensive lineman Derek Barnett has been named to the preseason watch list for the 15th edition of the Ted Hendricks Award.
Barnett, who earned All-SEC first-team honors at the 2016 SEC Media Days, is also on the preseason watch lists for the Chuck Bednarik Award and the Bronko Nagurski Trophy.
A 2015 All-SEC second team selection after ranking third in the conference in sacks (10) last season, Barnett enters his junior season tied for eighth in career sacks at Tennessee with 20. He currently trails the legendary Reggie White, UT's all-time sacks leader, by only 12. Barnett's 20 sacks are also the most by any Vol through his first two seasons of action. The Nashville native was third on the team in total tackles last season with 69. Barnett has been named a preseason 2016 All-American by Athlon, Phil Steele, Lindy's and Sporting News and Lindy's ranks him as the No. 3 defensive end in the nation in its preseason publication.
Dobbs Makes Unitas List
Joshua Dobbs is one of 43 quarterbacks on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm watch list.
Dobbs started all 13 games for the Vols last season and is 14-5 in his last 19 starts. During that span, Tennessee has averaged 34.2 points and more than 424 yards of total offense per game. Last season, Dobbs threw for 2,291 yards and 15 touchdowns while also rushing for 671 yards -- the most ever by a quarterback at Tennessee. He is one of just three SEC quarterbacks in the last 20 years to have 300 yards passing and 100 yards rushing in the same game -- joining Johnny Manziel and Tim Tebow -- having accomplished that feat twice over the past two seasons (against Georgia in 2015 and South Carolina in 2014).
Vols Make Coaches’ Top 10
Tennessee is ranked No. 10 in the preseason Coaches Poll. It’s the first time the Vols have been in the top 10 since Oct. 29, 2006 and they received one first-place vote.
Alabama is rated No. 1 followed by Clemson, Oklahoma, Florida State and Ohio State in the first five.
Rounding out the top 10 are LSU, Stanford, Michigan, Notre Dame and the Vols.
Georgia is ranked No. 16 and Florida No. 25.
(Reach Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)