KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football is in the closing stretch of spring ball as the Volunteers conducted their final full practice on Thursday at Haslam Field.
Following practice, tight ends coach Alec Abeln and special teams coordinator Evan Crabtree met with members of the media. The Vols will hold a walk through on Friday before conducting the Orange & White Game at 2 p.m. ET Saturday inside Neyland Stadium.
Admission is free and gates to Neyland Stadium open at 1 p.m.
Tight Ends Coach Alec Abeln
On his impressions of the new faces in the tight end room this spring…
“I’m really impressed with the new guys. Obviously, (Trent Thomas) played football for two years. It’s not his first rodeo, so he kind of understands what it looks like and has done nothing but just put his head down and grind. (Luca Wolf), with him coming from NFL Academy. Four years ago when we took Emmanuel Okoye, where Emmanuel started was a radically different place than where Luca has started. Just the amount that program has improved and what they’ve been able to get done over the last four years. Without bragging on them, without crowning them too early, through the first block of practices, he operated as good as anybody we’ve ever had in that first spring. Now, hit a little bit of the freshman wall – and that’s to be expected – things get sped up a little bit, new stuff gets thrown at you, but really both of those guys have attacked it and been awesome adds to the room.”
On the physicality of the tight end room through spring practice…
“I think it’s been good. I think (Ethan Davis) in particular, like if there’s any question about him in the core going into a year ago, there’s zero doubt in my mind now. Really cool to see guys that come in at that spot and develop over the time that they’ve been here, not just technique and fundamentals, but mentality, embracing it, enjoying it. I do think there’s still meat on the bone for the whole unit, for sure. I think we’ll get there, but they don’t feel like a bunch of receivers every day, you know?”
On how far DaSaahn Brame has come in the tight end role…
“Yeah. Same deal. Bunch of steps, and I think a similar path to Ethan. He probably started a little ahead in the box just because he’d done some of that stuff in high school. It’s a constant blend between technique, fundamentals and having your arousal level right. I think what happens with guys is the arousal level will be great, the technique goes out the window and then man, they’re focused on their technique and they’re not quite turned on as much as they need to be. There’s a little bit back and forth with that every day, where guys are focusing on something fundamental and maybe lose a gear of how hard and how physical they need to play. But overall, he’s taken a bunch of steps this spring, and we’ll need him to continue to do that.”
On the mindset of being physical as a tight end…
“I think a couple of things go into it. One, they understand that to play at the next level, if you’re truly a one-trick pony, there’s limited spots and there’s limited opportunities. The lifespan of those guys at the next level is smaller than what it is if you can do more. Flip side of it too, I mean for guys – not to make it a Masters week joke – but with golf, when you hit it off the hill, you hit it off the toe, it doesn’t feel really great. But when you flush one, it feels different. And I think it’s the same thing with the contact, that when you really do strike somebody the way that you’re supposed to, that feeling becomes something that you chase and something that becomes one that you want to get after again and again. Understanding man, they’re not always going to be perfect hits, but it’s contagious for the group that when one guy sets a tone and plays hard and plays physical, the other guys see that, want it. Once they try it, and once they feel it right, it’s like, ‘Oh, this is fun. I should be enjoying this.'”
On what stood out about Trent Thomas during the recruiting process…
“I turned on the Auburn game, and the dude dominated the C gap. Just with what was in the room already and what was coming back, I knew that for us to be successful, first and foremost, needed a guy that we felt really good about in that area. Absolutely, he’s got the tightest hands coming out that we’ve had and does a really good job in that area. I do think in the route, he’s continued to develop and get better. But no, I just turned on the Auburn game, watched the tape and said, ‘Does this guy help us win?’ And the answer was, absolutely.”
On Cole Harrison’s development this spring…
“Coming along really well. I’m excited for Cole just because this has been his first offseason where he’s been healthy, and had a true winter block to get work and get physically ready to do it. Mentally, man, he’s playing more confident. There’s still a ton of things to clean up, and I think he’d be the first one to tell you that the confidence piece of it. We talk about it being earned all the time. You don’t just roll out of bed confident with a lot of these things. He’s earned the right to be confident, and it’s time to start continuing to play with more of it, you know?”
Special Teams Coordinator Evan Crabtree
On his evaluation of the placekicker position this spring…
“Where we are with placekicker, Josh Turbyville has been here. He’s been our kickoff guy for the last three or four years. He’s coming along and competing. We got Cooper Ranvier, who we brought in from Louisville. Those two guys are going head-to-head right now in the spring. Grady Dangerfield is a younger kicker that’s on our roster, done a great job. So, we have those three guys as placekickers. Competition, iron sharpens iron. Every day that we go out there, we’ve got competitive kicks, we’ve got team sets, we’ve got pressure kicks; seeing who comes out on top, not only just in the spring but in training camp as we keep on going.”
On what he saw in Cooper Ranvier during the recruiting process…
“He’s accurate. He had good numbers. He’s got a powerful leg. He came here and worked out in the high school recruiting cycle, where he was actually here and kicked. We ended up not having a spot that year to take him, but as he got in the portal and it came back around, it’s funny how two years later he ends up here. Powerful leg, accurate, confident kid. That’s what we want, so great addition to the roster.”
On what has impressed him about Cooper Ranvier during spring practice…
“Well, it’s not that we didn’t see it early when he was a high schooler. It was just we didn’t have the spot to take him. I always knew he was powerful and knew he had a great leg. What I really like about Cooper, growing up as a young kicker, was that he actually played receiver. He played another position. He’s competitive. He’s been in the game of football, more than just kicking for a long time. So, I appreciate that about his personality. But, in the college ranks it is nice to see proof on film of a guy that’s done it in a game and competitive settings. He’s hit fourth quarter kicks, and he’s been in that moment. You have that on film as a confirmation. So, that’s what I liked about him, you know, the second time around when we got a chance to evaluate him.”
On evaluating his first season as special teams coordinator…
“To start with the bad, there are always going to be bad plays in the course of the season. I’m not blind to that. In fact, that’s the first thing we want to look at and evaluate. I’d say the first obvious one was the situational kicks that we have to hit. We’re kicking ourselves for those, but that’s the life of a specialist and the life of a college football player. You have to hit the big ones. In the punt return game, we had so much left out there. We have to secure the ball. We have to catch the ball. Punt returning is what we do around here, and we’ve had elite returners. We need to get it started, and that starts with the returners. But it also starts with the corners and everybody else in front of them. Those were the units that we really need improvement on. However, from a coverage standpoint, you look at our punt coverage, our kickoff coverage, we lead the conference in multiple of those categories. That’s yards per opponent return, that’s pinning the guys inside the 10-yard line on our midfield punts. We’ve been successful in that regard. A lot of that is because of Jackson Ross and our gunners that were out wide, covering and doing a great job. We take a lot of pride in that. Kickoff return, yards per return, I think we were second in the country this past year. So, the opportunities that we get, we have to go hit a home run. We know that as special teams guys, that we’re not going to get a drive. We have one play, so you just have to capitalize.”
On the competition of punt returners and what he looks for in a punt returner…
“Number one, I want to see guys that can catch confidently in traffic. That’s the number one thing. You have to secure the ball. We’ve had some really good ones here that have that ability. The number one thing is catching the ball. The second thing is playmaking ability. How can that guy take what he caught and then go make something happen, make a big play. The pool of guys that we’re working with are some familiar faces. Daune Morris has been a guy that took over that role halfway through the year. He did a great job catching the ball. I want to see him continue to grow on the return side of it, but phenomenal with the catch. Braylon Staley obviously is a guy that’s been back there a bunch, just continuing to rep him. Guys that came in, Qua Moss is super talented, very quick right out of the line. In all the things that we evaluate defensively, you show up as a punt returner, and he’s got the it factor when it comes to he could hit a home run. Ian Duarte is a guy that we brought in from the transfer portal, a guy that’s done it at Idaho State, from the catch standpoint, he’s returned (well), had a touchdown last year. Isaiah Hardge from Colorado is a kid that we brought in, and he’s a great special teams player. He’s a great guy that has caught the ball in a game, and he’s another one that’s in the pool of guys that we’re looking at.”
On Jackson Ross’ leadership abilities…
“Jackson is going on his fifth year here. When he first got here, it was more about figuring things out. He was learning about the United States and learning the ways of what we do here. It’s funny though, because you see him now and he’s this old vet, even older than what he was his first year. He gets a real feel for what’s going on in the game of football. He actually picks up on stuff in the game, whereas his first year, offense and defense, it was a little foreign to him. It’s been cool to see him grow as a leader. The guys look up to him. He’s got a great personality in the room, but also in the team. Guys gravitate towards him. We have a new punter here (Logan Foley) that is kind of his next-up guy, and it’s been fun to see those two. It’s kind of like an old dog and a puppy. We’re seeing (Ross) guide him along and learning the ways as well.”
