Johnson’s hands good target so far
KNOXVILLE — Bad weather forced Tennessee inside Wednesday for its first full-pads practice of the 2018 preseason.
Having one field — as opposed to the three available outdoors — restricted what drills the Volunteers could do, with quarterbacks throwing shorter routes than normal during the portion of practice open to media.
Tennessee’s receivers continued to display inconsistency despite running routes uncovered, with a handful of dropped passes during the open period.
It appears redshirt sophomore Jarrett Guarantano remains the front-runner to win the starting quarterback job through the first week of preseason practices.
Brandon Johnson, a junior, seems to be emerging as one of the Vols’ most sure-handed receivers after spending time focusing on that aspect of his game in the offseason.
“In particular, I wanted to work on my strength,” said Johnson, who had 37 catches for 482 yards last year. “And you can never catch enough balls. So just catching more balls and becoming more comfortable with the playbook is mainly what I focused on.”
Kicking specialists, who are normally indoors during early periods of practice, were left without much space to work.
The waterboy
Redshirt junior receiver Jauan Jennings remains a limited participant in practices as he continues working back from an offseason knee surgery, but he seems insistent on making himself useful to the team. On Wednesday, Jennings snatched a water bottle from a trainer’s bottle carrier and went around to several other receivers in line for a drill, offering them a drink before their next repetition.
James joining
Three-star athlete Reggie James IV is expected to join Tennessee’s roster this month as a preferred walk-on, he announced this past weekend. An injury derailed James’
recruitment out of Chestatee High School in Gainesville, Georgia, but he is expected to participate in full-contact work this fall.
Not here yet
J.J. Peterson, the top-rated player in Tennessee’s 2018 signing class, still has not reported to preseason camp as he tries to complete academic obligations required for him to enroll at the university.
Pruitt absent
First-year Vols head coach Pruitt was scheduled to meet with reporters after Wednesday’s practice, but “something came up” that prevented him from attending the scheduled media availability, team spokesperson Zach Stipe said.
Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @David WCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.