2024 Tennessee Orange and White Spring Game | Tennessee Vols football

2024 Tennessee Orange and White Spring Game | Tennessee Vols football

[Music] we’re with Coach hypo here year five coach you excited year four um man it’s uh it’s great to be out here uh obviously we’re limited and in our capacity today uh but for the guys to get an opportunity to play in front of our fans or family um big day here on Rocky Top got an opportunity to see a bunch of young guys grow up today too I’m jumping the gun on you’re five already sorry about that coach hey we got we got Nico we’re see a little bit of Nico fans are pumped about him what have you seen so far with the progression of him here in this spring yeah uh obviously the opportunity to start the bowl game great experience for him uh played really well opportunity to grow too and and learn uh some areas he’s got to continue to improve upon uh love what he’s done all off season been phenomenal all spring opportunity today continued growth uh to become the player we need him to be so we all know about the receivers you’ve had you had Tillman you had Hyatt Speeders on the outside big guys last year injuries killed that position but now you got some guys coming in to transfer brazle how pumped are you for that group yeah there’s a few more that are playing on Sundays too that you didn’t mention uh really excited about uh the depth and the group at the wide receiver position uh the deepest that we’ve been since we’ve been here opportunity to play more guys during the course of the game and during the course of the Season just a couple on defense too defensive line stack 13 guys may rotate up front the strength of the defense you’d say um hopefully strength of our football team to be honest um but uh we’re a long ways away from kickoff I I love the experience but all spring long they’ve come out with a purpose theyve set the tone created the energy on the practice field they’ve grown fundamentally it’s a group that’s really tied inside of their meeting room too um proud of what they’ve done excited to see them compete today last thing what do you want to see today I want to see guys play extremely hard uh both sides of the football um you know defensively let’s go create some turnovers got to continue to grow in that area offensively take care of it and uh want to see our guys play smart football uh and the young guys take another step uh where we need them to be next fall Have Fun N it’s going to be a great day go be orange there he is coach Eiffel back to you Mike Dustin thank you so we’re about to get underway here temperature almost 70° not a cloud in the sky a huge weekend everywhere you look for Tennessee sports number four baseball team with a big win over LSU last night Karen Weekley softball team ranked number four in the country and the falls wrapping up their Spring football with this game here today so we’ll start with a kickoff as Dylan Samson will be back to receive on the kickoff from JT Carver who’s very much in the mix in their kicking competition along with Max Gilbert and Josh turbyville as they look to replace a gr transfer from last year Charles Campbell who was their place kicker turbyville handled the kickoffs last year so this is just to get things underway ball off the te and then Samson back deep and then they’ll start with their first possession session at the 25 yd line last year Josh turbyville handling the kickoffs fourth in the SEC with a 72% Touchback rate and that one all the way to the goal line and so our format for today white team the offense orange team the defense and they’ll trade possessions points not live 15-minute quarters in our first half and then a running clock in the third and fourth quarters Big Goal get everybody out of here happy healthy and with a little bit B more experience under the belt and quarterbacks in the gray jerseys today with no contact on those guys of course Dustin after we sat down and talked with Josh hpel yesterday with Tim Banks the defensive coordinator what are the things you’re most eager to see this [Music] afternoon so IAM malava under pressure and throws it away on the opening possession of the game under pressure there from Jeremiah Tander breaking through on the offensive line LED Tennessee freshman last year with 35 tackles in the 2023 season certainly getting more experience and we’ll see plenty of him today a reminder Keenan peely the seventh year linebacker who was hurt against Virginia in the opener last year not playing today as a precautionary measure and the handoff here on second down goes to Deshawn Bishop the red shirt freshman from right here here in Knoxville and The Tackle by Caleb Perry well you see Bishop right there that’s another guy who’s going to get some opportunities here Mike because of some of the injuries to Lewis and Seldon there in the backfield and you know Bishop’s got a lot of potential didn’t play last year took the red shirt year was a little bit banged up and now here in this spring game an opportunity yam malava with a third down and six you can see look at him diagnosing the defense having a chance to to make the line make the and he gets just a fourman rush to throw to the outside just past the original line of scrimmage and taken in by Chaz Nimrod on the edge now interesting too in this game is that this year you can have the helmet communication in college football the addition of the two-minute warning as well but at the speed at which the volunteers play they’re still going to be using Sidelines in from the or signals in from the sidelines because they feel that’s the fastest and most effective way to communicate what they’re doing I also think it’s important too when you know you’re dealing with a freshman quarterback you don’t want to put too much on his plate and also you want everybody on the same page right so everybody uh takes a look over to the sideline they signal in the call and then sort of at the last second coach hpel can get in the ear of of Nico and maybe tell him to look a certain way or take take a peek at where the Mike linebacker is or there’s some movement or maybe you’ve got some pre- snap motions that you want to keep an eye on to try and tell if the defense is in a man or Zone coverage that was Jackson Ross who’s going to be a seconde starter come this fall with a 48 yd punt to the Freshman Buu Carter coming out of Chattanooga and they love him in the ESPN 300 listed simply as an athlete it seems like they could have put him on either side of the ball but right now he’s listed behind Jordan Thomas at their nickel position coming into the spring game so the second unit going to be led by Gaston Mo at quarterback he’s got Khalifa Keef in the backfield with him Moore the red shirt senior 10 of 17 through through the year in his career and Josh hypo really pleased with the progress he’s made in this spring feels the pressure gets it to the outside and it’s Dayton Sneed who makes the catch and gets across the 35 yd line again the tempo is going to go fast here Mike even with your second team quarterback you want to run the same offense the same [Music] tempo and again you see everybody looking off to the sidelines calling the plays remember coach hpel not calling the plays in during the Spring [Music] Game Moore fakes the hand off fast ball to the 39 yd line and the first touch for Chris Brazzle the second hoping to be yet another impact transfer wide receiver here as he’s taken down by Jaylen McMurray that’s two transfers one at wide receiver and McMurray the transfer at quarterback coming in from Temple and I like that Tackle by McMurray you know play quarterback in this conference you got to be physical on the outside that was excellent Moore with a clean pocket and it’s a little bit too tall on the outside that’ll bring up third down and six first look to the edge there for Mike Matthews the top recruit in the class of 2024 coming here to [Music] Knoxville defense shows Blitz off the edge flag it’s a free play deep ball single coverage deep downfield and a little bit too much on it but it looked like there was a jump from the defense on that Blitz from the slot pass intended for Matthews going down field offside on the defense number 94 5yd penalty replay third down [Music] so more here at quarterback on this second team fourth year transfer from UCF a walk-on has played in seven games in his career but no doubt instrumental in the transition to the starting role for Nico yam malava Blitz comes again after the penalty and on the handoff it is just enough for first down yardage there for the sophomore running back Khalifa Keef Edwin spilman The Freshman comes up to meet him and I got to tell you Mike I’m right behind the play and I heard that it chilled sent chills into my bones pressure coming check down throw goes over the middle as they get toward Midfield from Moore who felt that pressure coming Mike you you mentioned spilman the Freshman they’re really excited about him and again with some of the linebackers including Herring and peely not playing in this game you’re going to see a lot of Spillman one of the great lines that Coach B told us yesterday was that he craves violence from the linebacker position another good throw there over the middle and a hard hit as well it’s Dayton Sneed the red shirt freshman pulls that ball in and gets hit by bu Carter so the second team unit working well here and a handoff on first down is bottled up right at the line of scrimmage offense this year returns 46% of its production from a year ago and the Run game has been Elite they’ve run for more than 2500 yards in three straight years for the first time ever last year ninth in FBS at 205 yards per game on the ground it’s so funny too Mike you a lot of people think that this Tennessee offense is just you know Run and Gun and throw throw throw throw throw but they’ve had great running backs and again you got got two guys that are going to the NFL draft this year both will be selected and now you hopefully have another one in Dylan Samson but you still have to have a couple more we talked about that in the open and they’re really looking for somebody to step up good pocket Ball lofted Deep near sideline and incomplete just a little bit too long looking for Chris Brazzle In The End Zone but you’re going to see a lot of depth today we’re going to see Dylan Samson and Deshawn bishop and khif Ai and the walk on Hunter Barnes cam Seldon surgery out would be number two on the depth chart right now and pton Lewis a freshman sigy hurt in his high school season but they certainly expect him back for the start of preseason camp all right so big third nine here they went to Brazzle and that second and long took a shot they got him single coverage here again and they see an opening in the defense with the handoff it’s a run short of the first down as spilman once again comes up to make the tackle on Khalifa [Music] and they like Spillman a lot you’ve got two new coaches on the staff this year William in one of those coming in to coach the linebackers and says a spilman he’s one of my favorite players to coach because I never have to speed him up I only have to slow him down because of the way he wants to play and get to the ball he’s a he’s a fast dude he’s very young as you talked about there but to H but to have that knack for the football it’s pretty impressive more to come from Rocky Top temperature around 70° postgame concert to come later on today big baseball game tonight as the vs take on LSU and enthusiasm is high going into year four of the Josh hyola Tennessee football coming off a 9 and four season last year we are just two drives in here to the spring game and a first look at the Freshman from Savannah Georgia Jake merklinger who’s taken over here at quarterback for this drive and he gets out of the pocket for a nice scramble there Justin they’re really excited about him enrolled went through Bowl practices and chose the vs over 207 other offers the number eight pocket passer in his high school class yeah and he’s gotten better and better throughout this spring coach talked about the the first scrimmage they had how much he he grew from that process getting out there some live action and and again another chance here in the stadium you know it’s not not full capacity today as they got some Renovations going on but a heck of a crowd that’s allowed to be here on this beautiful day and and again a great chance for him to compete for that backup roll behind Nico off sides and that blows the play dead yes a diminished crowd here today for stadium that usually seats about 102,000 offside on the defense number 51 5yd penalty the results in the first down and so only 10,000 allowed in the building today because of the the ongoing Renovations and you look at the stadium and you say I don’t see anything under construction but it’s a lot of things in the entryways and the concourses and increasing the amenities here inside of nand and so that’s the offseason construction going on here in the spring first down and 10 merklinger he sends Patrick wil out on the flat a flag is thrown pre- snap and the slant caught just shy of Midfield which will bring up second down and nine pending the penalty flag Titus Roar the tight end with the grab that’s a violation against the offense illegal shift on the offense two players moving and at the same time 5yd penalty results in first down and as you alluded to earlier Dustin as well it’s always going to be about speed for this offense that’s going to snap the ball once every 20 seconds or so fastest Pace in FBS but the expectation here today is not about speed but it’s about making sure everybody’s lined up in the right place and that the fundamentals of the offense are set correctly yeah that’s always Spring ball you’re all about the fundamentals as you talked about there Mike and you don’t want to have mistakes you don’t want to have penalties and remember remember a lot of these things that you’re running whether it be defensive schemes or offensive plays a lot of it can tend to be vanilla because it’s an install period here with a lot of young players you got transfers who are just coming in you got a lot of the incoming freshman who freshman players who have enrolled early and so you’re not you’re not putting the kitchen sink at these guys this this soon before fall camp and by the way you got a you got a few more guys coming here for fall camp that they’re looking to step up as well spilman with a great job off the edge there gets credit for the sack that backs up the offense to third down and 17 inside 4 minutes to go in the opening quarter this offense under Josh hpel has been prolific in just three years they brok in 19 team offensive records that’s another offside so why not take a deep shot down the sideline I almost caught it Mike I almost had it I trust you it was right in my hand now was a great throw great arm strength there just a little outside Defense number 98 5yd peny replay third down although don’t they always say there’s a reason you ended up on defense right oh you’re one of those guys I couldn’t let the first quarter go by without at least a little jab you’ve been doing the impromptu classes you should be funnier than that that’s why I’m still learning third down and 10 against a fourman Rush great pocket here ball over the middle oh and it’s just off the hands right down the seam for Jackson lock the red shirt Junior wide receiver boy had lock wide open he set it right down the seene what a bang this head off the goal poost that was a great throw just a couple of inches past the outstretched arms so we’ll get to see another punt here from Jackson Ross last year average 40 3 yds a kick 22 of those punts landed inside the 20 yd line and see how well he can execute that here first punt 48 yards and this is one of your and that’s to the transfers with McCoy yeah 49 yards on that punt action continues 218 in the first here at the orange and white game the ones are back on the field here 218 to go in the first in the orange and white game and there’s Chris Brazzle red shirt sophmore out of Midland Texas firste wide receiver transfer from to Lane as he comes back out on the field here with Nico IAM malava and Company and yam malava showing off his ability to get up there of course anytime that they close in on him the play is going to be blown dead but we saw him do that last year in their bowl game three touchdowns on the ground and Dustin he’s really excited about having the new weapon out there in brazzil on the outside yeah Brazil’s a really fun Prospect here you know he he could have stayed at to Lane L Fritz in that offensive staff they decide to go on to to Houston and so there were options for Brazzle he he he could have stayed there he had a great role he was a very productive receiver for the Green Wave but decides to come here to UT and I I really think there’s a great opportunity for him and know when you look at on the outside he’s 6’5 right but he’s a little bit different than Thon also goes about 65 66 and here he is wide open on the outside and you can see already Nico trying to get the football to number 11 the thing that’s interesting too about Brazzle you know Brazzle is a former high school basketball player so he’s got that ability to go up and make plays especially in the Red Zone I think that’s going to give this this offense a big threat you get down there and it it yields another punt here with a minute to go in the quarter so no BR McCoy today as he works his way back from his injury squirrel white out today as well the brell has looked good here in the early going we’ve seen some deep balls thrown toward Mike Matthews and the Freshman bu Carter is back to receive this pun he’s been in the mix in their return game and takes that at the 40 yd line 42 yds on the punt the interesting thing is about Carter Dustin you know you talk about managing expectations through Spring ball how much you can learn and then into the fall when you talk about guys who are young especially trying to get into the rotation in 39 games with Josh hyp as the head coach freshman defensive backs have only started two so yes great players but what you have built now in three full seasons plus a going into year four with another recruiting class is depth so you have great freshman coming in but the expectation isn’t always that they’re going to be on the field right away no that’s a great point I mean young players have time to come here and develop and even though they struggled last year and and some guys transferred and and some guys going to the NFL you’re almost always getting somebody drafted from this secondary which is pretty impressive and reason why a kid like bu Carter who had 39 division one offers decided to come be a volunteer Gaston Moore at the helm here on this drive and he looks for a quick throw across the middle has the completion to Midfield and a little bit of extra effort to pick up the first down 11 yards on the play on the game to Charlie Browder the tight end and I was looking at Browder before the game down here as he’s warming up 6’7 he looks like he’s 610 he’s a he looks like he’d be playing center for the basketball team ball is tipped and incomplete intended for Dante thoron they’re really excited Dustin about this tight end group as well with Miles kelman coming in from Alabama Holden stays coming in from Notre Dame as well yeah and this is an offense with with Coach hpel that really wants to have two tight ends involved in their offense they they’ve had two tight ends darn near every season that coach has been here at UT and now you look at maybe kelman and stay he kind of taken all over that role as the two big tight ends in this offense ball to the edge is incomplete as Jordan Matthews gets a hand in there and breaks it up on the ball intended for Dante thoron and that takes us to the end of the first quarter defense and special teams on display here in the early going on an idilic afternoon in Knoxville Tennessee in between quarters Trey Smith honored on the field who played here in Tennessee 2017 to 2020 two-time First Team all SEC and now with the Kansas City Chiefs a two-time Super Bowl champion just Josh dos here as well as we get ready to get the second quarter underway Mike cousins and Dustin Fox along with you on this gorgeous afternoon inside nean stadium getting a look at year four of the Josh Hy era and boy have records fallen in fast fashion 19 different team offensive records have fallen the best scoring teams ever have been during his tenure and in three years Tennessee averaging 30 n points a game in three seasons only Ohio State and Georgia have averaged more over the last three seasons in college football so far today though no scoring as Gaston Moore is at quarterback here to start the second quarter and a toss over the middle it’s Charlie Browder with the catch and he’s right to the first down marker at the 39 yd line so more the red shirt senior zings that 35 yd line catch and another first down so they’re moving the ball quickly here they get it out to the edge with Dayton sne making the catch from Moore the fourthe transfer from UCF played in seven games in his career and with having a younger quarterback taking over here he’s gotten the most reps of his career during this spring practice s I’m back and now a quick stoppage Aiden Buell the red shirt freshman offensive lineman a little bit slow but back to his feet there getting up after that throw Mike I’m back with you I was talking NASA with Josh dobs NASA well we’re talking about the eclips remember he spent a little time in Cleveland we’re we’re going to get him here momentarily we talk talk a little bit about the the volunteers and the total eclipse how about that love it Josh recently signed with San Francisco well Dustin we see Aiden Buell here who is the injured offensive lineman certainly down some depth here on the offensive line today and I think that’s going to be one of the questions going in is to see who’s battling for starting jobs there most notably at not playing today the center Cooper ma simply a precautionary measure to make sure that he’s healthy going into the summer in the fall yeah I always think the center is the most important position on that offensive line and you know Maz who’s a senior with second Team all SEC a season ago you got to have him um you know having a senior center with a freshman quarterback is is absolutely the perfect combination cuz those two really need to be in syn they’re really excited about the left tackle they brought in Lance herd the transfer from LSU who comes with three years of Eligibility and Josh hypo could not have sung his Praises any better saying he’s been a perfect addition not only on the field on the left side of the offensive line but as a lock room contributor as well I always find that fascinating too when you’re a transfer and you come in here especially when you’re a veteran how do you fit in right I mean how do you how do the guys respond to you in the locker I think that’s one of the most important things and I always think it’s good that guys get an opportunity to get in here early when you make that transfer playing Spring ball participate as opposed to sometimes these guys transfer in they’re just going right into the season so now an opportunity for the guys to really mesh prior to fall Camp especially when you’re going up against guys who a year ago you had to say hey I don’t like those guys we’re trying to beat those guys and get to the SEC Championship game and now those are the guys you’re going to war with you change the ties real quickly so third and one as they get the ball into the Red Zone and they hand off to wil does get them the first down here’s an interesting spot Dustin to watch how the defense fares here that’s one of the areas that Josh hpel said they want to improve for 2024 is getting stops in the red zone and not settling for three but getting six well and I think that that’s where you you talk about those corners on the outside and can they match up with the big tall wide receivers especially on this drive I we’re looking at Thorton here who’s standing right in front of me as he goes about 6’6 6 foot5 214 that’s the linebacker Jaylen Smith heading off to the sideline for the vs defense [Music] defense has continued to improve under Josh hpel and Tim Banks going into year number four as the defensive coordinator last year 32nd in the country in yards allowed 21st in efficiency during hypo’s tenure as well because of how fast the offense plays the defense has been out there for almost 2,900 snaps the second most in FBS as the offense goes to work here in the red zone and there’s good blocking in front and we have our first touchdown of the afternoon TouchDown for Dayton sne the red shirt freshman wide receiver and he puts the first six on the board on a 13 yd catch and scramble into the end [Music] zone a heck of heck of a job by seed on the outside you’ll see the Freshman defensive back for rout come in there 26 just kind of whiffs on the tackle and a great job byne finding the end [Music] zone Sneed in competition with Chaz Nimrod and Caleb Webb and Mike Matthews all behind brw McCoy squirrel white Dante thoron and Chris brazille so here comes the extra point Max Gilbert the red shirt freshman from Memphis and he puts that up and through Gilbert arrived on campus December of 2022 got to participate as Nico IAM malava did in their Orange Bowl practices and then started taking classes January of 2023 last year their kicker Charles Campbell was a gr transfer from Indiana Chase McGrath a couple years before that and we heard from Josh Hy when we started the afternoon Dustin that this is as deep as he feels like they’ve been in four years they’re going to be healthy with McCoy they’ve gotten better with Brazzle and that allows them to be able to be deep because you’ve got to how fast they play to get guys in out and ready to go I think McCoy is the key you know when you get him back it was a devastating injury for for him a season ago and that sort of moved things around you know last year Thorton was playing inside he’s more of an outside wide receiver we got to get all these guys healthy we know squirrel white is going to be in the slot and then you got braz would probably playing the other side I I just think they’ve got a ple of weapons here for Nico to to really evolve this offense and take the step forward similar to the way that they you know they were in 2022 a record setting season and one guy we’re not seeing today as well who’s a really exciting Edition is brilin Staley the incoming freshman number 21 wide receiver in the high school class and that’s going to make the coaching table there even though no return you want to be as good as you can on special teams as Deshawn Bishop comes off the field after the kick from JT Carver and you mentioned the the wide receivers that 2022 season Jaylen Hyatt the program’s first buet nof award winner first unanimous All-American since Eric Barry in 2009 and Coach hyper was very quick to remind me that it’s not just Hyatt and Tillman going to the NFL there’s a lot of wide receivers that have come through this program under hyp and and he’s put a lot of dudes in in the league everywhere he’s been Jake merklinger leading the offense here the Freshman 63205 out of Savannah Georgia enrolled in January he’s got Hunter Barnes the walk- on with him in the backfield good pocket ball to the outside and a nyd pickup with the throw to the edge catch there by Jack Henry jacobe now to the opposite side and this is an interesting to point to uh Dustin as Trey wey gets the grab is when guys transfer in here especially heard it from the tight ends but you hear from the wide receivers one of the differences for this offense is how wide their splits are for the receivers I was just noticing that I mean they’re they’re splitting out well beyond the numbers as there’s a deep shot down the field and a little bit too much contact ah I think you let that one go I’m a former defensive back by the way pass interference on the defense number 15 15 yd penalty will be in forc from the previous spot and he carries an automatic first down but I do want to get some of your knowledge on this Dustin about those wide splits and how it pertains to making things more difficult for the defense what does that do relative to an offense that plays a little bit more compact well the number one thing it does is you you get Defenders split out from the core and and whether those guys are going to be involved in the play or not it’s still is something you have to pay attention to and so you get guys out there well beyond the numbers you can see both sides but when they run those stack formations that’s what’s really interesting and you throw those quick sort of now screens almost like design runs is work nice nice Wheels there getting outside the pocket there yeah he gets inside the 30 so a gain of about 15 yards there for merklinger on the run but really Mike back to your point about those splits I mean some of it’s just window dressing I mean you want to you want to get a corner of safety away from the core and a lot of times you end up just running the football Berlinger low snap handoff goes to Hunter Barnes the red shirt sophomore walk on out of Memphis and merklinger continues a straight of high rated recruits coming in here at quarterback as well their fourth ESPN 300 quarterback to sign with Tennessee going back to 2016 and of course you’ve got Nico IAM malava taking over the Reigns who was ranked 23rd overall in the 2023 High School class and the number five quarterback in that group cling in on 5 minutes to the half as merklinger waits in the pocket and steps up to run again he’s got some space to the 10 and he is in for the touch touchdown a 26 yd [Music] scramble you know that’s one of the things they really like about merer is his ability to run he’s a quarterback you talked about how highly rated he was out of high school but this is a guy who ran for 32 touchdowns as well so not just a pocket passer very mobile quarterback and you know obvious see in this game you get you get touched you’re down he was untouched right up the middle sees that thing pardoned finds his ways to the end for their white Squad hard to tell which team scor going which direction but that’s the white team put six on the board and now Josh turbyville the red shirt sophomore Knoxville native for the extra point to try and even things up last year their kickoff man and in a three-man race along with Carver and Gilbert to be the place kicking Specialists for this year’s team merklinger taking the opportunity with an open field to run to the Checker boards and evens it up at [Music] seven lots of big names in the house here this afternoon at nean Jaan Jennings and Josh dos now teammates after dos spent last last year with the Vikings and last month signed to play with the 49ers this past year as those two honored here late second quarter Jennings a Tennessee native drafted seventh round in 2020 and dos who played here for the V 2013 to 2016 a fourth round pick back in 2017 and let’s go down to Dustin with Josh dos hey Mike I’m down here on the sidelines with uh a volunteer Legend Josh dos how you doing buddy I’m good man as always good to be back on Rocky Top how about this weather today man gorgeous gorgeous we were playing some golf yesterday on the links and it was it was tough out here in Knoxville but it opened up a great day here on Saturday for some football big golfer big golfer big golfer we got a we had we had a good competition between all the bfls out there at Tennessee national it’s a good day who’s the best my team may have won but you can’t win your own tournament so uh I won’t I won’t say I won’t say all right so I do have to ask you you played for the Browns and you were in Cleveland last week I’m a Cleveland guy too by the way and you love space we all know about that that your history with NASA and and all that stuff so what was the eclipse like you were in cev when you saw it it was absolutely amazing like to see totality um to see it downtown Cleveland on the Great Lakes at the great lak Science Center with NASA and the stem and the kids there man it was a a beautiful event to take in it’s really once in a lifetime to takeen in in that in that setting and that experience um so it was a great time and it was great to be back in Cleveland with some good weather I’m sure you’re considering getting into space or doing something after football but you’re still playing you’ve been in the league for a while now you’ve been on a million teams I asked you you know we were off the air is this your eighth team I think so you know at this point it’s like might as well get all the helmets you know it’ll be a crazy collection but no I’m just grateful for the next opportunity to be out in San Fran I got Jawan Jennings out there I got some familiar faces on a really on a really good team that’s played a lot of really good football with with a tremendous coaching staff in front office so I’m excited for my next opportunity man and we’ll see where the world takes us you know go you take a one day at a time but your best foot forward maximize all the opportunities that are throwing your way and you do that man uh when you look up you’ll be very proud of your journey I have to ask you last year one one of the great stories in the NFL was you and you traded to to Arizona and then you’re end up in Minnesota like the next week it seemed like it was crazy and then you come in the game against the Vikings in the lead a remarkable comeback how cool was that it was so cool man like it was a world win of a couple weeks just like getting traded and not thinking you’re going to get traded and trade deadline happening oh we got a big play going on okay what do you think about that play oh that’s nice that’s nice crazy seeing Big O with the tackle all the way down the field that was a great Hustle by though man he’s awesome Amari he does a great job on off the field uh representing turn around here but yeah it was a it was a crazy story man crazy Journey um throughout the year um but I’m thankful for it it makes me who I am oh how about that throw how about tell me about that throw from Ni there we go we been we’ve been waiting to see something right there that was a great throw great Drive good to see good to see Nico lead the ball St for a touchdown be excited to see that all for all this year there’s been so many great quarterbacks play for the volunteers and and fans here in volunteer Nation are pumped about about n go what have you seen from him so far yeah I think one is just maturity that I felt um in the times I’ve been able to spend some time around the guys I was able to throw with them a couple months ago and just the way he was a it was a Friday night on a on a college campus in the middle of the winter and he had the entire receiver core in the complex thr with me to get some work in and I think that shows the maturity that he has the maturity that this team has and that’s the leadership that that they’ll need to go in throughout the season throughout a really good and tough uh conference in the SEC so you just signed with San Francisco recently uh how’s that process been what what what are your expectations for the upcoming season I’m looking forward to it man um I’ve been a I’ve watched them for far I played them last year when I was in Arizona um so they have a tremendous team so I’m excited man to to uh embrace my role in that QB room and and help us hopefully um take the step which they’ve gotten so close to over the past four years and and getting that super goal Josh we appreciate your time so much man best of luck no doubt thank you and goall as always all right there he is Josh dos more to come from Rocky Toop when we come back yeah Dustin a great Drive finished off 27 yd strike nikam malava to Chaz Nimrod and Nico perfect through the air this [Music] afternoon the white team takes a 14-7 Advantage here in the orange and white game in Knoxville 36 seconds to go in the first half and a beautiful strike nikam malava to finding Chaz nimrod the red Church sophomore down the sideline in the end zone and Dustin Nico a perfect 6 for6 91 yds in that touchdown and he made Josh dos proud he was excited down here on the sidelines watching the new the new shiny toy get his opportunity here nean stem Stadium what a what a great throw in that touchdown pass and just down the field you said six for six I think coach hypo will take that efficiency quarterbacks have been solid Nico 6 for 6 91 yds Gaston Moore 8 of 12 81 yards in a touchdown and the Freshman Jake merklinger three of four 20 yds and the rushing touchdown taking the space up the middle this drive 36 seconds it’s more at quarterback as they start out at the [Music] 25 more out of the pocket on the Run 26 seconds first half we still got more coming your way at the half as well two new position coaches joining the squad this year William in to coach the linebackers joined in late February last year the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for Washington which went to the college football playoff championship game and derl Sims who joined the staff on February 20th coaching the running backs and you’ll learn more about those new additions to the staff coming up at the half first down ball Caleb Webb the grab on the edge 17 seconds in the first offense calling timeout time out offense and Dustin to go back to niik IAM malava as well who may after that last Drive be done for the day they get him his reps and keep him healthy onto the sideline it’s been interesting hearing about his journey going from a guy who was an early R lead before the 2022 Orange Bowl win over Clemson to last year getting to watch and wait and then take over in the bowl game that they wouldn’t necessarily describe him as an introvert but a guy who has not yet been the one who’s going to be the vocal guy because he hasn’t had that playing experience like you said within the SEC but he’s formed his relationships in one-on-one conversations and welcome guys into the fold especially with a lot of new faces on offense yeah I go back to when I was a freshman it’s it’s really difficult to come into a team and expect people to you know sort of rally around you or listen to you obviously I wasn’t playing quarterback and he is but now that it’s his job as what a throw that is Moore lets it Fly and the timeout pays off because Mike Matthews the number five wide receiver in the ESPN 300 takes it runs 63 yards and a touchdown with some time to spare wow Rocky toop salivating now as they see the young receiver making some plays what speed on the outside by Mike Matthews and when we had a chance to to chat with Coach hpel this week he was raving about Mike Matthews and this a guy that really Pro probably could play defense or offense was a great safety in high school great size 61186 and I really like what coach hpel told us yesterday is it’s a guy that really hasn’t seen a lot of press coverage from the wide receiver position and that’s you know you talk about the many ways in which making a jump to the SEC is difficult Max Gilbert with the extra point is that anybody who’s playing college football at the power five level no matter where you’re coming from save for maybe playing at IMG Academy in Florida you are far in away the best player on your team in your league maybe in your region your state and all of a sudden you’re playing against the best guys from everywhere that they came from and I think the SEC probably plays the most man coverage of any conference in college football because they’ve got such great athletes on the outside and you know when you’re the best player in high school you’re going up against a corner who’s probably lining up 10 yards off you playing Zone coverage and you’re wide open every every snap that’s different and now to be out here in an environment in a big Stadium like nean and you got man coverage and you make a play like that and it was Man by the way he beats his man with a Speed release off the outside creates that separation a wellth thrown football and is making his Mark here on on this spring game and that brings us to the half so two big passing touchdowns at the end of the first we’re all even orange and white after a slow Offensive start Nico IAM malava perfect through the air and Gaston Moore hits the Freshman Mike Matthews to take us to the end of the first on Rocky Top I’m coach William I work with the linebackers I’m dur Sim I’m the running back coach I’m from Union South Carolina this is the first opportunity to meet the guys man impressed with your [Applause] moves you join a team because you think you can make them better that’s exactly why deral Sims and William M are here all right hey man hey so you’re going to face this way face this way under bend knee bend knee Bend Under and Over under under there we go no you’re good you’re good you’re good everything everything we do we will always start off the day with something excellent for new coaches it’s important to earn the trust of your guys spring is the perfect time to build that relationship anything happened spectacular today to anybody hey there we go there we go that’s what I’m talking about what you can expect from me as a coach high energy being detail oriented and pushing my guys to their limit you know making sure that they understand that I love and I care about them but I want them to be the best that they can be as a person I want them to be the best that they can be as a football player I can’t come into the building and say man today I’m just going to get through this I got I get to come out here and execute number one I get to come out here and compete with my brothers in this room with my teammates on the field so we got to understand before you can go achieve any goal you got to have that mentality to go do it I think you look at the trajectory of the program now um and then the opportunity to come into what I feel like um is rbu and being able to put your imprint and your stamp on it and help this program achieve the levels that we all want to get to we got to do a really good job okay of always making sure we’re competing listening to the instructions competing and getting AC the the hardest part is one just making sure the guys trust you because you know they’re always looking at whenever a new guy comes in it’s like all right what’s this guy going to be about is he going to be real is he someone I can trust is he someone that can help me let’s go let’s go hter let’s go take take the field let’s go where my feet just like I’m going to attack the bid you know what I’m saying good job sir good job sir good job sir his ability to communicate his ability to teach and his overall football knowledge was extremely clear right from the jump now we steering steer it steer it we knew that was was the guy we had to get in the building when the ship gets a little wavy in the Seas the captain will always bring it in and calm everybody down is that clear and that’s what we have to be able to do the biggest thing I would say is is in our room the levels of demand the levels of accountability is also very high High Line of accountability when it comes to what you do every day from a workout standpoint our speed has to be going up on a day-to-day basis our leadership has to be going up our urgency has to be there we have to become more urgent he’s super confident in what he believes in the right way to to win and he preaches on us every day and he’s super big on getting us out of our comfort zone it’s your job to help someone because at some point in time it could be one of us in the room and what should your teammate do lift you up the one thing that I know is this game is such a great gift I do everything I can to make sure that the player somehow some way try to smile every day every day at practice whether it’s me making them smile somehow with a corny joke or just being able to say something just just so they can see themselves smile and see each other smile because this game can be fun it’s supposed to be fun and that that’s what this great sport is all about hey man hey hey man it’s a great Monday mental Monday workout you ready ready sure why you fumbling the balls man the pride and tradition of Tennessee football will not be entrusted to the weak timid or non-committed right correct so make sure we’re not that new faces are all around the building this year but the standards remain the same that all starts with family connection and football the orange and white Tennessee spring game heading into year number four of the Josh Hyo era quiet first quarter but things really got heated up in the second as nikam malava takes over the Reigns following the Citrus Bowl win last year against Iowa where he scored four touchdowns three of those was on the ground showing off his great decision making and his arm here in this first half Dustin we saw IAM malava Gaston Moore get out of the action first touchdown was Dayton Sneed getting up and getting some good blocking up the sideline yeah I thought sne did a really good job breaking the tackle getting into the end zone and the offense was very efficient on that drive I I was really impressed with really all the quarterbacks that we saw in that first half now granted they’re not going to get touched there’s no pass rush that can get you know allow them to be sacked but that throw by uh by Nico the touchdown throw was just fantastic we had the Jake merklinger touchdown run as he took off up the middle and closed out the first half with some really explosive plays IAM malava to Nimrod and then Moore finished off the first half with a touchdown toss as well to Chaz Nimrod yeah listen there’s going to be opportunities for some of these these guys like Nimrod on the outside just maybe even a little bit of Sneed might see a little Caleb web Mike Matthews the young freshman I thought he has been maybe the most impressive uh wide receiver that I’ve seen so far today the the young freshman who’s I think going to get a lot of playing time this season as a youngster IAM malava perfect through the air and more 10 of 14 for 151 yards we’re probably going to see a little bit more down the depth chart coaching staff said that Nico would probably go about 20 snaps here as we get ready to start the third quarter so that means we’ll see Navy Scher the red shirt freshman and perhaps the walk-on red shirt freshman Ryan damr at quarterback Chris brazel with some impressive plays in the first half the firste transfer wide receiver from tane there you see miles kelman as well along the sideline the transfer tight end from Alabama and the kickoff from JT Carver gets us underway on the or I should say the catch from Deshawn Bishop with none of those kickoffs being alive and it looks like you are correct my friend we’re going to see Schuler I believe on this offensive drive he is in the Huddle here with the offense Navy Schuler the red shirt freshman from Western North Carolina out of the town of Fletcher his third year with Tennessee spent two years at App State his dad Heath former SEC Player of the Year in 1993 second in the Heisman Trophy voting to Charlie Ward and he takes over here first and 10 at the 25 yd line with Hunter Barnes with him in the back field so empty set and they call him down as he took off and started to run that was Joshua helson in Pursuit into the back field for a loss of three second down 13 on the throw ball pops loose in and out of the hands of Trey wey and Dustin to go back to that first down play there first snap of the day for Schuler always have to remember what expectations and realizations are coming out of a game like this is this is a staff that believes this is the deepest the most talented defensive line in the country against an offensive line that’s missing several starters today yeah I think anybody who was coming into this game thinking that the offensive line was going to have a great day probably fooling themselves this defensive line mostly healthy mostly playing in this game as you mentioned the offensive line maybe down four starters potentially in this game so a lot of the backups playing against some of the starters more so in the first half than what we’ll see here in the second and third quarter as we get a little bit of a running clock and get an opportunity to see some of the the younger players try to make their Mark and the most enthusiastic comment yesterday from Tim Banks who’s going into year four as the defensive coordinator here for the EVS was a without the defensive line that he says is the tip of the spear everything else flows through what they do if they’re able to get pressure that makes everybody’s life easier and that’s why they want that position group so deep to keep so many fresh bodies cycling through there and make life hectic for opposing offensive lines well and I got to tell you you know when I when I played way back in the day uh our of course at Ohio State our defensive line was fantastic it made my life in the secondary so much easier and so when you talk about trying to you know make that pass coverage the pass defense better I think it really does start up front and this defense is built from front to back and that’s that’s really what you want and when you can rotate 13 guys you can keep guys fresh you it allows you to be able to play a little bit more man coverage on the outside which I think puts pressure on the opposing team’s offense and then what it also does is allows you to pressure a little bit more and so quarterbacks have to get the football out a lot quicker and then you talk about that man coverage on the outside that helps tremendous now one of the guys Rodney Garner the defensive line coach has said has really improved Jason Jenkins who two years ago played Just Three snaps got into six games last year at defensive end bringing back e and Thomas across the middle and then James Pierce Jr first team all SEC last year and the sec’s leading returning tackle for loss and sack leader coming back this year Nimrod on the edge how about ni getting another series here in the second half a perfect seven for seven through the air for IAM malava last year played five games in 2023 his most regular season action came at the end of the year as he loads up and goes deep down the sideline and a little bit too much Sizzle on the pass for Caleb web but 2023 played the most in the regular season that 24-point win over Vanderbilt and then of course took off in the 35 nothing win in the bowl game over Iowa well that Iowa game was interesting too you know very low scoring to start and then all of a sudden Tennessee just opens that thing wide open and really a big part of it was was Nico’s ability with his legs those three touchdown runs it got things going and I think that’s where where where vs fans really got excited about the prospects of Nico for this season you know obviously it’s tough to lose a quarterback like Joe Milton but Nico steps in with all kinds of HP and I think he’s got a really really good head on his shoulders to be able to handle this and you talked about earlier Mike his his leadership and how he’s been able to to come in here as a young player and I think the the veterans around him have have responded cuz I think everybody knows and that’s always important when your teammates know that you’re the guy that’s when they buy in and it also helps the coaching staff too when you’ve got a quarterback that that can lead not only with his words and by being vocal cuz he’s not the most vocal guy in the world he will be as he gets little a little bit older but by showing with actions he’s a really really good kid by all accounts Jackson Ross on the punt here to Bo Carter The Freshman does and you and I took in practice yesterday morning in the indoor facility because I’m Amazed by the way that Josh jobs got out and played golf yesterday it was it was raining sideways in Knoxville yesterday but watching Jackson Ross punt which he can do with both feet by the way I’m surprised that there aren’t a few holes in the ceiling of the indoor facility with how much velocity he gets on the ball that one goes for 47 yards it didn’t matter which leg what a challenge that is for the opposing team’s punt returner you know when you’re a pun returner you’re sitting back there you know exactly how that Ball’s going to come off a right leg kicker or a left leg kicker and this guy can get sit back there like he’s Jose Ramirez in the box and bat switch hand or be a switch hitter I should say so 1414 orange and white 930 and Counting here in the third as Jake merklinger who ran for about a 25 yd touchdown in the first gets the ball here first and 10 back at the 13 yd line after the punt from Jackson Ross still got some of the starters in here Brazil’s in the slot right in front of me play action first down and that’s Dante thoron coming back after the ankle injury gain of 14 that injury against Missouri in November and they said that when he got hurt fortunately by the time that they came back for the second semester in January he was just about ready to go now the second year since he transferred over from Oregon where he spent two seasons with the Ducks Dustin he’s going to be a crucial part of the offense in 2024 yeah and he was disappointed with last season how how things had gone for him in terms of his production the injuries were a concerned and and listen a player like with his talent he he could have transferred again if he wanted to instead he comes back to Tennessee with a lot to prove and and now when you add another receiver like Brazzle on the other side I I like what they’re doing and again keeping these guys in through the third quarter is is interesting to see I I really do believe they want to see the chemistry they can build with this offense and those guys being on the field at the same time this is third down and eight flag is thrown at the snap deep ball downfield a couple of strides clear it’s brazzo to the 10 the five and that’s a touchdown and you’re going to have a flag on the defense that penalty is decline results to play as a touchdown he beats jayen McMurray right off the line of scrimmage and I’m not so sure exactly who it was on did he announce a number Mike because I think McMurray might have been off sides in his defense a Brazzle on the outside from McMurray the quarterback transferr in from Temple that’s another crucial part is getting experience in that secondary he played almost 1,500 snaps for the owls and comes here with two years to play so when they went into the transfer portal they brought in Jaylen McMurray at corner jacobe Thomas who was the starter at safety in Middle Tennessee State and jmad McCoy at the other cornerback spot having guys who were ready in big game experience was a big part of what they were looking for and the other thing McMurray brings to the table is his versatility you know was able to play a little bit inside at that star position and also outside two completely different positions a lot of people think when you play Corner playing inside versus outside’s very similar no it’s not it’s it’s much different and to be able to have that versatility to do that they always say the more you the more you can do McMurray can do a lot but I’ll tell you who can do more how about Chris Brazzle taking this one to the house [Music] heading into year four of the Josh hypable ERA last year injuries were certainly part of the story one of those was an injury to wide receiver Brew McCoy who was lost for the year in October a season ending lower body injury and so as he gets healthy ready to return for the 2024 season he’s certainly going to have a lot of insight a lot of experience joining squirl white out there Dante thoron and Chris Brazzle and Brew McCoy is down on the sideline with Dustin Fox as we get ready to get back to action here 441 to go in the third let’s go down to Dustin hey Mike we got one of the best wide receivers for the volunteers here battling back from injury brw McCoy how we doing man doing great man enjoying it how’s the rehab process been for you it’s it’s every day it’s tedious but it’s great it’s fun you know I enjoy it you let’s go back to last year you know obviously the injuri is really frustrating it happens in the middle of the year you’re off to a good start how tough was that to have to watch your guys throughout the rest of the season knowing had you been out there you’d be able to help the guys it was tough I mean it was tough at first and then you realized like you know this is what you as a leader have to do to push them this is why you were pushing them so that you go down you can’t be there you can’t be out on the field like you’ve pushed them enough in the offseason that they can go out and handle business so where are you at mentally in terms of what you have left to prove what you want to show volunteer Nation here this season I think that I mean what I want to show VA nation is just that the amount of work we put in we deserve to go have the success and that’s Collective that’s fans players coaches everybody like the success is imminent and the work’s been put in and then just me personally I got a lot to prove to myself just like an injury like this you want to come out and show yourself hey I’m I’m not only the same player but I’m better and I can still improve and push the needle on myself so um mean there’s a lot to prove and there’s a lot to go out and do and that’s why I push myself the way I do every day there’s no doubt people are excited about the wide receiver group they’re really excited about your quarterback Nico uh what have you seen out of him and you’re smiling man you’re excited about Nico talk talk to me about your Young quarterback man I mean he’s like a receiver’s dream you know he’s accurate passer he can extend plays he’s great on his feet and he’s smart and um he’s a ball player so when you’re looking at like what you got in front of you there’s not a better quarterback and then he’s just a great dude and a great teammate and so let’s go to that wide receiver room because that you guys are going to help Nico a freshman quarter quarterback needs weapons on the outside you guys have a ton and then when you get back healthy it’s going to be phenomenal I’m I’m a assuming uh how close are you guys in that room you got you guys got a bunch of dudes I’m I’m guessing you guys have a little bit of fun in the quarterback room or the wide receiver room man we do I mean it’s like a brotherhood like those are my brothers that’s my family uh we lean on each other for everything um and and and it goes off the field too like we really look out for each other and I think that that helps with us all wanting to have like success you know nobody’s really it’s competition but we want to see us all win you know what have you seen out of out of the young uh freshman receiver Matthews a lot of maturity man like he’s supposed to be in high school he is acting like a third fourth year guy I mean he carries himself well he shows up every day he he doesn’t miss stuff um and he’s really like picked up everything super quick I couldn’t even do it that quick when I came in early so I commend him for all of that we got a chance to watch the video of all all the kids that sent you those cards that was pretty cool man no doubt yeah yeah I I mean shout out South Knoxville for real like that elementary school all the teachers everybody the staff it was cool to meet them and I mean and you you got to see how cool that was brw appreciate the time and best of luck to you appreciate you there is brw McCoy back to you Mike all right flag is down on a deep ball into double coverage down the far sideline and the ball is caught but unfortunately out of bounds there for Trey weary on the Deep throw with a flag down to the 41 the defense number 98 5yd penalty from the previous spot replay third down hey Dustin what is that learning curve if you go back to your freshman year at Ohio State of just being able to grasp all of the things not just the Playbook but what your life is like now like he said you’re supposed to be in high school school and has the maturity of a guy who’s a junior or a senior goodness Mike I I I can’t even imagine you know what it’s like for me I I was just swimming you know trying to learn the defense trying to learn you know where you got to go to class where I got to go to eat I mean you think about those little things just being a freshman in college and on top of that you you tack on the responsibilities of being a player and I can’t imagine being a quarterback having to learn in offense and all these things so it’s it’s certainly a challenge and you know now with guys coming in a little bit early I I I do think that sort of helps them because you can get established a little bit earlier on but but nonetheless it’s like being a rookie all over again in the NFL it’s almost the exact same thing you’re just really just trying to find your way and that’s such a Difference Maker too for guys like Mike Matthews who arrive here early bu Carter on the defensive side to be able to have that leg up with these spring practices under your belt by the time that preseason camp rolls around you’re just about ready to go that was Ryan Damron at quarterback there defense sent heavy pressure so the red shirt freshman Walk-On’s pass goes incomplete to bring up fourth down and four Damron who chose the BS over offers from East Tennessee Eastern Kentucky and Jackson Ross with a punt down to the 10 for gerod McCoy 47 yards they said today if you had to put together a starting too deep that McCoy at corner there would be a starter firste guy from Oregon State native of Texas three years to play and there’s going to be chaos every offseason Jonathan Smith has a phenomenal season for the Beavers thir leaves Oregon State and their conference changing as well they feel like there’s so much untapped potential for gerad McCoy at corner McCoy is is been really kind of fun to watch here throughout this game I I like the two young transfers I guess they’re not that young but uh you look at McMurray the transfer from Temple McCoy from Oregon State I I think they’ve got a bright future here in the secondary so what a gorgeous day here in Knoxville one quarter to go for the orange and white spring [Music] game we go to the fourth on a gorgeous afternoon on Rocky Top postgame concert to follow here after folks file out of nean and then I know at least one guy in this building it’s heading over to the baseball stadium as well Dustin Fox for a continuation of a big Series against LS you I hear SEC baseball is where it’s at buddy so you never been I have not and I oh you don’t even know what you’re missing and we got a top 25 matchup this afternoon what a day here on Rocky toop you got the spring game you got fans everywhere you talk about these concerts fans outside have it a block party a watch party for my cousins they all want to see you and then you got the baseball game I can’t wait baseball and softball Ro both are ranked top five in the country you had Rick Barnes basketball team doing the fall walk earlier today after they had a phenomenal season took a Deep Run SEC regular season Champions outright for the first time since 0708 and reached the Elite 8 for just the second time ever and you’ve got the excitement of a new women’s basketball coach coming in a young fresh face so lots of things to be happy about I had by the way I had I had the volunteers in my bracket winning it all easy for you to say now there’s no way for us to fact check that go on ESPN I got my got my bracket I’ll show you how bad I was you were all in on Dalton connect man they could have just got P past Purdue this was the year you were going to have the perfect bracket right it was close Gaston Moore a little bit high on the slant to the outside [Music] third down and [Music] five defense drops seven that’s the first down throw a catch a run a little bit of nifty move in there from Dayton Sneed who’s had a pretty good day on the outside yeah sne are very interesting Prospect here for for these guys I mean only had one catch last season but so far in this game he’s made a couple of catches and a lot of yak yards after catch making guys miss you love seeing that yeah 20 yards there on the catch and run and a hand off Nets five yards to Khalifa Keef who’s hoping to play a bigger role this year as well the sophomore out of Birmingham Alabama last year was mostly a special teamer and 11 carries for 24 yards a season ago long throw to The Numbers One Missed tackle make it two and a third is what it takes to bring down Caleb Webb that’s 13 more yards and after a slow start first quarter offensively things have really picked up Tennessee quarterbacks overall have produced 3,000 yards of total offense now three straight years that’s every year of the Josh hyp era you go back Dustin in the history of this program 1950 up until 2020 the year before hyp arrived that play is blown dead Tennessee had a quarterback produced 3,000 yards of total offense five times in 70 years and it’s happened now in three straight Seasons well and obviously a big reason for that is is Josh hyle and the explosive offense that he brings and on top of that you have to talk about recruiting and be able to get these players in whether it be through the portal or through the traditional you know high school route and I think when you’re a quarterback coming out you look at offenses and you say where do I fit and if you want to you know run in gun and and have the ability to run a little bit too and you’re mobile this is the perfect fit for a guy like like Nico and you know Joe Milton a season ago and henden hooker before that and hyp three seasons the V have averaged 483 yards a game that’s fourth in the country and ranked third in scoring at 39 points a game only behind Ohio State and Georgia and I love this one because it’s fun to watch they’ve taken a snap once every 20.8 seconds fastest Pace in FBS do you have a stopwatch up there I got a [Laughter] phone and he’s Josh hyle is one of just three Tennessee coaches to take the program to bowl games in each of his first three seasons all right what’s your calling third and 18 here do you want what I would do if I were playing Madden or what I expect cuz what I expect is a draw I know what you do on Madden Chuck it and instead it ends up with a sack which of course quarterbacks can’t be taken down in this game but talk about what Tim Banks has done in his three seasons as defensive coordinator 297 tackles for loss most in the SEC and 41 sacks last year Dustin most since a School record 50 back in the year 20 th000 I think he’s done a really good job with his with his defense and you know being able to recruit some of these top players for that defensive front certainly helps I think it’s going to be interesting how how he’s able to to to mesh that group in the back end because that’s that’s really the most important part of this particular team team in this team defense and remember coach Banks is a is a former defensive back himself by trade so he spends a lot of time in that room and so he’ll have his hands all over the defensive backs in the secondary as they try to [Music] improve College athletics this coming season is going to look drastically different the additions of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC Oregon UCLA USC and Washington maybe they’ll come to know the great joys of a layer over at O’Hare Airport as they make their way over to the Midwest Arizona ASU Colorado and Utah to the Big 12 and the Atlantic Coast Conference well you could call it the all Coast conference with Callen Stanford joining and SMU giving it a presence in the middle of the country so a bigger SEC and for the vs as they head into 2024 a really cool schedule the opener against Chattanooga week two taking on NC State for the first time since 2012 that was a win in Atlanta that year and only the second trip ever to North Carolina in the last 60 Seasons they’ll play that game in Charlotte Dustin I think what’s really cool about this schedule though is from October 12th to November 9th you’ve got four games plus a by week in there it’s going to be four straight home games all against SEC opponents and the last time that happened was Tain in the SEC in 1947 and they left the league in 66 well that’s certainly going to help them because there’s no doubt in college football what a what a huge home field advantage there is but to start the season I mean a bit of a Bugaboo you you got to go on the road to NC State at Oklahoma at Arkansas I mean it’s going to be tough to start but if you can somehow get through that little bit of a gauntlet to to start the year you’re going to have a chance go out on a make and they did with Max Gilbert drilling the field goal to finish off the 2024 orange and white game here in Knoxville [Music] well Dustin what we saw today from Nikia malava was impressive there’s lots of reason for optimism based off of not only what we’ve seen here today but guys who are returning from injury sitting out today for whatever the reason might have been to build a really strong contender in the SEC which is going to be as we just talked about moments ago an even more difficult conference to win in this year yeah listen the one thing that stands out to me is speed I I think they got speed on both sides of the football and that’s going to help them in this conference there’s no doubt about that I was impressed with the quarterback play we talked a ton about Nico as we we went through the broadcast but uh I thought I was really impressed with the wide receivers especially Brazzle excuse me the transfer from from Tain was really impressive and then then Matthews you the young freshman showed showed a lot as well uh I I think good things ahead I’m not I’m not saying they’re they’re NE definitely going to be the play out but they’ve got enough talent to certainly be in that mix multiple recruiting classes in for Josh hypo the culture is in place the depth as good or better than it’s ever been the defense built around a really strong defensive line experience brought in in the secondary and talk about a strong culture guys who choose to come back and use their sixth year Cooper Mays gantes Spraggins Brew McCoy who we heard from during the broadcast this is a team that is all running the same race [Music] together so now it’s time to watch and wait until the start of preseason camp and then the opener and a challenging SEC schedule for the Tennessee Volunteers but a high-scoring exciting fast-pace offense fun to watch here this afternoon in neand stadium thanks to everybody who joined us here today whether it was some vfl like Josh dobs Brew McCoy Nico amava and for Dustin Fox down on the field our statistician up here in the booth Kirk McCarley our spotter John Tobias and our producer stas Hall all my cousins saying thanks so much for watching and so long from noxville great home games all against SEC opponents and the last time that happened happened was tane in the SEC in 1947 and they left the league in 66 well that’s certainly going to help them because there’s no doubt in college football what a what a huge home field advantage there is but to start the season I mean a bit of a Bugaboo you you got to go on the road to NC State at Oklahoma at Arkansas I mean it’s going to be tough to start but if you can somehow get through that little bit of a gauntlet to to start the year you’re going to have a chance and you know no one knows what Florida’s going to be abama is going to be but those games were at home in the middle of October and that could be a really opportune time for the volunteers to make a step and and put themselves on the map as National contenders for the playoffs and maybe even a national title this year that game against Oklahoma is going to be highly anticipated as well for Josh Hyo his alma mater week four first meeting between the Sooners and the volunteers since 2015 got a minute 21 on the timer here and navy Schuler at the controls hands it off third down and 10 to Hunter Barnes the red shirt sophomore out of Memphis couple of injured running backs today cam Seldon ping Lewis AE coming in early and so we did not get to see them today Dylan Samson at the top of that depth chart today no squirrel white in action along with Brew McCoy who’s injured Ethan Davis at tight end not avail aailable for Action today an incomplete pass there on fourth down and nine so we’ll see another unit come on here for the final minute of offense [Music] and among other guys we did not get to see today especially along the offensive line the center Cooper Mays Andre Carrick gantes spragin Jackson Lampley and on the defensive side Elijah Herring who’s been out all spring the linebacker and Keenan peely who’s their most veteran player going into his seventh year precautionary sit out as well so pressure timing here Josh turbyville for a straight on field goal try a 45 yd attempt to close it out and when you’re ready Mike we’ve got a special guest down here take it away defox how about we’re joined by the starting quarterback of the volunteers the new starting quarterback of the volunteers Nico how we doing buddy doing great man how are you oh not as good as you you look great out there today on some of those deep throws how you feeling feeling great man you know got a opportunity to go out there and get better with my teammates and you know just showcase our talent in this spring game and I thought we did a good job today how important was this spring you obviously you start the bow game but now you come into this season as a starting quarterback you know it’s your job uh what did you learn how’d you progress learned a lot man you know I think that bowl game helped me out a lot tremendously just you know being a full starter for full game and yeah you know I carry that over to this uh offseason this spring and um yeah really just improving with with my teammates we got a couple new guys from the portal so you know just getting them up the par with you know our offense and our Tempo is it tough being a young guy to to step up and be a leader when you’re you’re just I mean you’re just a freshman yeah um I wouldn’t say it’s tough I know I know expected you know as a quarterback coming in you’ve got to lead these guys got to lead your teammates and like I said last year just learning from Joe on you know how to lead guys and be a pro and leading the team is helped me out so you know I look forward to carrying that over this year and last thing just talk about those wide receivers you got some big dudes out there who can run and catch man we got a lot of guys that can go out there in that receiver room um I just look forward to you know seeing them make big plays man they they made a couple big plays today and uh yeah we can only get better from here all right we’re excited to watch you man best of luck to you that’s there he is the quarterback of your volunteers Mike and I think I needed a ladder to to talk to him 66 great height and we had three kickers go out to close things out pressure situation 45 yds 3 seconds on the clock and it’s a three-man place kicking competition trying to replace Charles Campbell this year Josh turbyville did not connect neither did JT Carver and just like an angry game you got to go out on a make and they did with Max Gilbert drilling the field goal to finish off the 2024 orange and white game here in [Music] Knoxville well Dustin what we saw today from Nikia malava was impressive there’s lots of reason for optimism based off of not only what we’ve seen here today but guys who are returning from injury sitting out today for whatever the reason might have been to build a really strong contender in the CC which is going to be as we just talked about moments ago an even more difficult conference to win in this year yeah listen the one thing that stands out to me is speed I I think they got speed on both sides of the football and that’s going to help them in this conference there’s no doubt about that I was impressed with the quarterback play we talked a ton about Nico as we we went through the broadcast but uh I thought I was really impressed with the wide receivers especially brazzil excuse me the transfer from from tan was really impressive and then then Matthews you the young freshman showed showed a lot as well uh I I think good things ahead I’m not I’m not saying they’re they’re definitely going to be in the playoff but they’ve got enough talent to certainly be in that mix multiple recruiting classes in for Josh hyp the culture is in place the depth as good or better than it’s ever been the defense built around a really strong defensive line experience brought in in the secondary and talk about a strong culture guys who choose to come back and use their sixth year Cooper Mays gantes fraggin Brew McCoy who we heard from during the broadcast this is a team that is all running the same race [Music] together so now it’s time to watch and wait until the start of preseason camp and then the opener and a challenging SEC schedule for the Tennessee Volunteers but a high-scoring exciting fast-pace offense fun to watch here this afternoon in neand stadium thanks to everybody who joined us here today whether it was some vfl like Josh dobs Brew McCoy Nico amava and for Dustin Fox down on the field our statistician up here in the booth Kirk McCarley our spotter John Tobias and our producer stas Hall all my cousins saying thanks so much for watching and so long from Knoxville [Music] [Music]