With football camp entering it’s second week, it’s time for our weekly 3-2-1, three observations, two question and a prediction as the Vols are a month away from kickoff at South Carolina on September 26th.

1. Eric Gray has been impressive — The sophomore tailback finished his freshman campaign in grand style with 366 yards and 4 touchdowns in the last two games of he year. Gray used that to build off of in this unusual off-season and while the Vols aren’t in full pads and have yet to scrimmage, the Memphis product has show his speed, improved strength and versatility as he’s been effective in both the run game and the passing game.

It’s also safe to say that Gray had adjusted very well to his knew position coach Jay Graham.

“Coach Graham is an unbelievably great guy. You can see the experience that he has coaching running backs. He’s taught me so much in just a short time; being able to read a front, read a defense, see the safety rotation, different things like that that I never really thought about, drawing it on the board,” Gray said.

“He’s really great with details. He really harps on the details, making sure you’er aligned correctly, that you hit the hole correctly, you press the backers correctly. Different things like that which is going to help you go to the next level.

2. The athletic ability of the freshman receivers — We have written about it and spoke about it all summer long. The newcomers at receiver are extremely athletic. The question has been what do they look like in pads and when they are playing football. Well, they haven’t disappointed to start camp. You don’t have to be a recruiting analyst to see Malichi Wideman’s athletic skills. Wideman is still going through acclimation and has will put on shoulder pads tomorrow for the first time. But the guy who continues to generate the most buzz out of that group is Jalin Hyatt. At 6-2, 180 pounds, Hyatt has a great frame. He has really good speed, but what’s been most impressive has been his skill set.

“We knew he was good. We knew he could run. We didn’t know he was this complete of a receiver at this point,” a source told Volquest.

That completeness includes the mental side of the game which means Hyatt could play multiple receiver spots sooner rather than later.

"Jalin is a guy that is very polished," Pruitt said. "He's had three really good practices, and he's got to continue to do that. He's got to work on ball security. It's a little different in this league because everybody plays in your face. In high school, very few teams probably played him that way, so he's got to continue to work really hard at the line of scrimmage, at the top of routes, and he's a guy that can play really all three spots at wide receiver.”

3. Welcome back Jeremy Banks — When Pruitt spoke about Banks’ return a week ago, he talked about all that Banks had done to put himself in a position to be able to be back. He’s clearly enjoying the fact that he’s back. Observers have spoke about the passion he has and the enjoyment he’s shown in being back at practice. And he’s a heck of an athlete. He plays physical and aggressive. He’s got a ton of things to learn and is trying to make up for lost time in his development. But he athletically has shown in week one why he could be a good SEC player. He’s also shown his appreciation for being back in the game.

“He still has some growing to do on the field at linebacker but when he hits someone it’s just different,” a source told Volquest.

1. Can JT Shrout build off his first week? — Let’s be honest, most didn’t have Shrout’s name in the pool of guys who would be talked about in week one. In fact, most wondered if he would even be here to start fall camp. But it’s Shrout who generated the most quarterback buzz the first week. That doesn’t mean he’s pushing or going to beat out Jarrett Guarantano, but he could be the back up. Harrison Bailey has been in quarantine and has yet to practice. Brian Maurer continues to battle inconsistencies and Shrout took advantage in week one. Shrout has shortened up his release and really worked on some fundamentals this off-season after some extensive conversations about his game with offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and quarterbacks coach Chris Weinke. Shrout’s timing to date has been much better than a year ago according to everyone we speak with.

2. Can Trevon Flowers become consistent? — Flowers has been a guy that’s been talked about for two years but a broken leg and broken collarbone the last two seasons has disrupted his growth and development. Flowers has made some plays in the first week including an interception Saturday night indoors after weather pushed Tennessee away from Neyland to the indoor. The question is can Flowers stay healthy, play more physical and develop some consistency practice in and practice out.

OL depth will continue to flex it’s muscle

Tennessee head coach Jeremy Pruitt praised that unit’s start on Friday and the depth of that group has been on full display early.

“They continued to improve and develop some chemistry up there,” Pruitt said. “We’re playing a lot of guys. (We have) a lot of guys getting a lot of different opportunities there. (We're) moving some guys around, but you can tell from a conceptual standpoint we're a lot further ahead than we were probably when we practiced in spring thanks to the OTAs we had this summer.”

Jamir Johnson has gotten off to a great start. Johnson’s weight is finally up to 300 pounds. And through week one, it’s clear that Wayna Morris is not the lay down starter at left tackle. At right tackle, Will Friend could go with Darnell Wright who worked at both guard and tackle, K’Rojhn Calbert and Cade Mays if he wins his appeal. At right guard it could be Wright, or Jerome Carvin. And that doesn’t take into account a guy like Riley Locklear who has experience but is rarely talked about.

Every year coaches cross train guys to multiple positions. In the past few years at Tennessee it’s been more to cover your rear end in case of an injury. This year it’s about figuring out who the best five are out of a group that has several more than five who can play.