University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Complete Non-Contact Drills
Aug. 13, 2001
Tennessee completed its last day of non-contact work Monday before putting on the pads for the first time this season in tomorrow morning's session. The Vols worked in helmets and shoulder pads in the morning, and shed the pads for the afternoon workout.
Head coach Phillip Fulmer said the Vols had a crisp workout this morning as the team gets closer to its first day in pads Tuesday.
"I was really pleased with the tempo this morning," said Fulmer. "Obviously, it starts to pick up when you get closer to putting on the pads. One of our challenges is certainly going to be to get the young players in the mix and build on our depth. That was the focus this morning--to get more reps for the young guys and try to keep them closing just in case we had an injury. Hopefully, we will be able to play a lot of people, certainly more than we were able to play last year."
The Vols are looking for immediate help at running back, receiver, linebacker and in the secondary.
"It pretty obvious that the three junior college guys--Julian Battle (FS), Aubrayo Franklin (DT), Demetrin Veal (DE) all understand the tempo, pad leverage and the physical side of it. It will be interesting to see how the newcomers, particularly those young offensive linemen will respond when they get a chance to go full speed. It will also be interesting to see how those young running backs respond.
On the injury front, offensive tackle Reggie Coleman (back) returned on a limited basis for the afternoon session after missing the Vols' last three workouts dating back to Saturday. Linebacker Tony Campbell was held out of both practice sessions Monday due to a left hamstring strain that occured in Friday's afternoon practice. Campbell was held out of Satuday's practices as well and is listed day-to-day.
The Vols open the season Sept. 1 with they host Syracuse with kickoff set for 4 p.m. EST.
