Tennessee football was back at practice on Tuesday morning for the 10th session of the spring slate. Josh Heupel said he likes to break it up into thirds, and this marks the end of the second third of practices this spring.
The Vols have one more closed scrimmage this week, three more practices and then the Orange & White Game on April 11 to wrap up the schedule.
This practice featured full pads again, as well. Here’s my full notebook.
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Offense
As always, we’ll cut right to the chase with quarterbacks. We got to see some tight red zone routes on air outside. In the intermediate, I thought Faizon Brandon had the best day. Accurate over the middle of the field and to the back pylon with some velocity behind the ball. In the short range, I thought George MacIntyre was more accurate and put the ball in better positions for his receivers. Both missed a throw or two while we watched, but overall, a strong day for both.
Again, Ryan Staub puts the ball in the perfect spot more often than not. His accuracy is elite, and he had another good day. The issue is that you can tell pretty quickly the arm strength isn’t up to par with MacIntyre and Brandon. It’ll be interesting to see how his pros and cons weigh in fall camp.
Order of reps for pass catchers was the same. First unit working with MacIntyre was Travis Smith Jr. (X), Braylon Staley (Y), Ethan Davis (TE) and Mike Matthews (Z). Second unit working with Brandon was Radarious Jackson (X), Joakim Dodson (Y), Dasaahn Brame (TE) and TK Keys (Z). Third unit working with Staub was Deon Hardin (X), Ian Duarte (Y), Cole Harrison and Trent Thomas (TE) and Jack-Henry Jakobik (Z).
Probably the toughest day for receivers as far as catching the ball so far, but I’m far from hitting the alarm. As Kelsey Pope noted yesterday, a clip went viral of drops a year ago, and the team went on to have the best trio of receivers in the conference. Some really nice receptions mixed in today, as well.
Best catch of the day went to freshman tight end Luca Wolf at the back pylon over an assistant while keeping his feet in. Best route goes to TK Keys, who broke the ankles of a coach pressing him at the line and got a reaction from his teammates. Best throw of the day was a dart from Brandon to Brame at the back pylon that you couldn’t have placed any better.
Also liked how Matthews and Staley are moving. Really crisp route running and elite first steps to get off the ball.
Vols 2027 offensive tackle commit Princeton Uwaifo also took a visit today.
Defense
The biggest thing of note on defense was defensive line coach Rodney Garner returning to practice. He had a procedure done heading into spring ball and was not able to attend practices in person until today. He still made his presence felt over Zoom during that period, though.
On Tuesday, it didn’t take long to notice Garner was in attendance. You could hear his voice across the facility as he made up for missed time with his defensive line. Likely not a fun day to be in his room, but a big addition to get back in the fold for Jim Knowles’ defense.
My other defensive note is Ty Redmond. He had a really strong scrimmage the other day and looks the part of an elite corner. He obviously came on strong at the end of his freshman year, but UT has some options at cornerback this year. Going through drills, he looks quick, in control, strong hands, great footwork and all the things you’d want to see from a potential starting SEC corner.
Tennessee sophomore cornerback Ty Redmond ⬇️⬇️⬇️ pic.twitter.com/tgwztfAg3D
— Ryan Sylvia (@RyanTSylvia) March 31, 2026
