Tennessee football is in the midst of its mock game week with fall camp in the rearview and kickoff against Syracuse nine days away.
Fall camp often doesn’t have any massive surprises unless a major injury happens. But there were a handful of non injury surprises for the Vols in fall camp this season including with position battles and freshmen pushing for playing time. Here’s three surprises from the Vols’ fall practice.
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Jesse Perry’s Emergence On The Offensive Line
Tennessee returns just one starter on the offensive line from last season, but there were already a number of spots settled entering fall camp.
Still, there were position battles at center and one guard spot entering camp and while neither have publicly been decided, Jesse Perry’s emergence is a real surprise.
The redshirt freshman Perry felt a year away from helping Tennessee, but he’s in line to potentially start at right guard to begin the season and is a utility player that slides to tackle due to injuries if needed.
Tennessee offensive line coach Glen Elarbee said that Perry “does everything right” earlier in fall camp. That has him in line to potentially start before the season. That’s not something many saw coming entering fall camp.
Multiple Freshmen Pushing For Playing Time
It is no surprise that five-star freshman David Sanders will start at right tackle to begin this season. But entering camp, I wasn’t necessarily expecting a bunch of freshmen to emerge.
Maybe I should have though. Josh Heupel and Joey Halzle gave us a heads up though entering camp, talking about how Tennessee’s underclassmen “don’t have time to be young.” A number of freshmen have had strong fall camps and are setting themselves up for playing time this fall.
At defensive tackle, blue-chip freshmen Ethan Utley and Isaiah Campbell are pushing for playing time in the two-deep. That was already the case but junior Daevin Hobbs’ foot injury gives them an even larger opportunity. In the defensive backfield, three-star freshmen Ty Redmond has impressed in fall camp and is providing needed depth due to the uncertainty with Jermod McCoy and Boo Carter’s status.
There’s a bounty of opportunity on the offensive side of the ball. Tennessee has a lack of receiver depth with freshmen Travis Smith Jr. and Radarious Jackson each in the two-deep with a chance to emerge as key targets as a freshmen. Tennessee does have depth at tight end but freshman DaSaahn Brame has made plays throughout camp and could push for early playing time.
Jaylen McMurray Emerges As Top Contender At STAR
The uncertainty around Boo Carter continues with kickoff nearing for Tennessee. It’s unclear what the talented sophomore’s role will be in the season opener but it would be quite the surprise if he starts in the defensive backfield.
Jaylen McMurray was a solid backup cornerback last season and Tennessee liked his versatility when he transferred in from Temple. McMurray is showing that versatility and is emerging as a strong replacement for Carter at STAR.
Even when Carter is back, it would not be a surprise to see him split reps with McMurray at STAR. The one key there is that either McCoy gets back healthy or Redmond proves himself as a capable backup behind Rickey Gibson and Colton Hood.
