Quick HiTs: Worley out; Vols adjust
Who was missing from Tennessee's football practice Tuesday on Haslam Field was as noteworthy as who logged work, many of them in green jerseys, as the Vols prepared for Saturday's game at 10th-ranked Missouri.
Junior quarterback Justin Worley did not participate for the second-straight day after further injuring his already damaged thumb in Saturday's loss at Alabama. Worley will miss multiple weeks with the injury, and Joshua Dobbs for the second-straight day garnered first-team reps and appeared poised to make his first career start this week at Missouri. Riley Ferguson, with heavy white tape on his right leg, also got an increased workload running the offense.
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But the Vols' injuries hardly are limited to the quarterback position, where redshirt freshman Nathan Peterman returned as a practice participant really for the first time since he injured his thumb and needed surgery after Tennessee's 31-17 loss Sept. 21 at Florida.
Otherwise, wearing green, non-contact jerseys for Tennessee were: Jacob Carter, Josh Smith, A.J. Branisel, Justin Coleman, Brian Randolph, Max Arnold and Byron Moore.
With Dobbs and Ferguson largely commanding the offense, the Vols also continued to rep the split backfield look with both Rajion Neal and Marlin Lane flanking the quarterback. The Vols also repped several other players in the backfield.
In the secondary, Arnold got some first-team reps at safety with both Randolph and Moore limited. With the second-team unit, Devaun Swafford, Malik Foreman and Jalen Reeves-Maybin all worked in the secondary.
Wideout Paul Harris had a heavy black wrap on his left quad, and Lane also worked some returning punts.
VolQuest.com will have full post-practice coverage, including the comments of Jones and other players on the quarterback situation and more. Staff twitter handles are: @Volquest_Rivals, @Volquest_Paul, @Volquest_Rob, @John_BriceVQ, @AustinPriceless and contributor @GrantRamey. More coverage all evening and into Wednesday, including the midweek recruiting roundup and the matchup piece.