Takeaways from Tennessee's first spring football practice

De'Rail Sims and William Inge have had an eventful month.

The new Tennessee football assistant coaches had barley settled into their new roles before the Vols opened spring practice on Monday morning, but the two have made the most of their short time in Knoxville.

For the first time since their arrival three weeks ago, their coaching styles and personalities were on full display inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center.

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"They're both extremely smart," Heupel said. "Going through the interview process with them, they're both extremely bright guys. Communicate at a really high level. They have a high-passion, high-care level. They've got great energy. They're really comfortable and confident in who they are and how they carry themselves. They've been really good inside the building so far."

Two weeks before spring practices, Sims, who replaced Jerry Mack as the running backs coach, told reporters that he was still learning his way around that building, but he looked settled in with the Vols' backs during drills on Monday.

Sims takes charge of a room that returns Dylan Sampson and a number of talented underclassmen, including Cameron Seldon and Khalifa Keith and newcomer Peyton Lewis.

At Sims previous stop at Cincinnati, the Bearcats rushed for 200 yards in 12 games and produced a 1,000-yard rusher in their first season in a Power Five conference.

Inge, who takes over the linebackers following the departure of Brian Jean-Mary after three seasons, brings his own successes. He served as the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach for a Washington team that reached the College Football Playoff National Championship last season.

He steps into room that now has a healthy Keenan Pili and some players that were forced to grow up in a short amount of time last season in Elijah Herring, Arion Carter and Jeremiah Telander.

"(Sims and Inge) are two guys that have had a ton of success if you look at the history of their careers," Heupel said. "They've coached at high levels. They've had guys that have been highly productive. They've come in the building and done a great job of developing relationships with the guys inside the room really quickly but then also being able to demonstrate how they're going to help them grow.

"The transition for them has been really smooth. Excited to have those guys and our players have done a really good job of helping them, too."

Jake Merklinger is in good position to move into the No. 2 spot in the quarterbacks room.

The Tennessee freshman quarterback who signed with the Vols' 2024 class as a four-star prospect, enrolled early and took part in bowl practices in December. That experience offered plenty of growth before he took the field for his first official spring practice.

Merklinger joins starter Nico Iamaleava as the only other scholarship player in the quarterbacks room and though walk-ons Gaston Moore and Navy Shuler have been in the system longer, Merklinger could work his way into a role similar to the one Iamaleava was in this time a year ago.

WATCH ON VOLREPORT: Our observations from Day 1 of Tennessee football spring practice

"(Merklinger is) a talented guy that works extremely hard. Cares about his craft. Cares about his teammates in a really positive way," Heupel said. "He's had a workman type mentality since he got there. You get thrown into bowl preparation, it's coming real quickly, at you, especially at that position with everything that you've got to navigate. (He's) continuing to get better fundamentally.

"He's grown in understanding our schemes...I'm really excited to get out there and continue to compete with him through the course of spring ball."

Lance Heard hasn't played a lot of college football, but he was one of the most coveted offensive lineman in the transfer portal at the end of last season.

It was big win for Heupel and offensive line coach Glen Elarbee when Heard, a former five-star recruit that played at LSU in 2023 were able to pull him from the portal and add him to an already experienced offensive front.

The 6-foot-6, 335-pound Heard, who appeared in 12 games with the Tigers last season, certainly looked the part in limited contact offensive line drills in his first spring practice.

He is expected to be a key contributor on a line that returns center Cooper Mays, guard Javontez Spraggins and tackle John Campbell Jr., who is expected to move to the right side to make way for Heard at the left tackle position.

MORE FROM VOLREPORT: Spring Practice Central: Everything from Tennessee's first day

"(Heard is) a young player that's going to continue to grow," Heupel said. "He's got to develop and grow into being a pro and how he handles himself every single day. He's been awesome inside of our building. Developing relationships, how he has competed everyday...He's handling himself with maturity. On the field, he's a young player that's seven, eight months into his college football career and he's just beginning his journey. So, fundamentals, technique, understanding what we're doing offensively, the communication that's got to happen up front.

"When we play with tempo, being able to function and operate within that. He's in the beginning stages. Uber talented, being great in the building. And I expect him to grow over the next 14 practices."

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