Vols expect plenty of offensive fireworks

Much has been said about who will be throwing passes for Tennessee this fall, but there are still questions about who will be on the receiving end of those throws.

Tennessee is looking to replace the production lost with the departure of Josh Malone this offseason. Malone led the Vols in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns last season, but if you ask the quarterbacks there is nothing to worry about.

“I think that we have a great set of receivers,” redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano said Saturday.

Sophomore receiver Marquez Callaway said overall the quarterbacks have a talented group of skill-players to work with.

“We have a lot of talent in the receiver room, the running back room, quarterback room. There is a lot of talent on the offensive side,” Callaway said. “The big plays are going to come. They are going to be there. We have work, study our playbook more, get stronger in the weight room with Rock (Gullickson) and make it happen.”

Jauan Jennings is the leader of the receiver group, back from a breakout season last year in which is was second on the team in nearly all major receiving categories. Beyond Jennings and Josh Smith, there is very little in the way of established receivers on the Tennessee roster. But even so, Guarantano has been impressed by the young group this offseason.

“I think Latrell Williams is definitely somebody that came on. Josh Smith just came back, and he had a great practice today. Brandon Johnson is able to create separation from the outside. Marquez is able to go up and get it. Jeff George, as you already know, is 6-6 and a big fade guy. And Jauan is Jauan.

“I think that everybody is a great addition, and the freshmen that just came are working their tails off. They're doing a great job.”

His confidence in the group has been building for months. Starting during the spring and growing during 7-on-7 drills this summer, he believes they have hit the ground running now that fall camp has started.

First-year quarterbacks coach Mike Canales said he can see that the quarterbacks and receivers are on the same page, and he credits their offseason 7-on-7 work for helping get the timing and continuity down before they started camp.

“You can see the timing is really good,” Canales said. “The first two days were really good in terms of the ball location; where we're throwing the ball, where we're expecting them to be and the point we're expecting them to be and the scheme of the pass game. I think that's been really good. You can see they've put a lot of time in and invested in each other. And, I think now they trust each other.

“You have to be on the same page and speak the same language and we have to be in sync. That's what you're seeing the first two days. We feel like we're in sync and you see it on the field.”

Offseason work has helped, but leadership has played a part in the early returns as well. With five freshman receivers on the roster, first-year offensive coordinator Larry Scott said that having a player like Jennings to mentor the group has helped bring them along this summer and will continue to benefit the group as camp wears on.

“It's always good to have returning players with experience,” Scott said Sunday. “And not only returning players with experience, but guys that have played at that level and been successful at that level. We want those guys to always be very good examples of what we want from young guys and how to prepare and how to practice.

“It's one thing to go play games, but at this level of football guys have to learn how to practice. They got to learn how to prepare. They've got to learn all of the little things that add up to Saturday when it's time to pass the test, they've already passed it on Tuesday. They've already passed it on Wednesday. They have to understand it's a process.”

It's a process that Callaway said the receivers work not only on the practice field, but on their own outside of “football hours."

“We get together a lot and go over everything,” Callaway offered. “We go over coverages and a lot of defensive stuff so it will make us better offensively.

“The game has slowed down a lot. Coming in everything was thrown at us. We didn't know what we were doing so it seemed kind of fast. Once we learned the playbook everything kind of slowed down and we could see the big picture of everything.

A picture that is much clearer not only to Callaway, but to a set of skill players on offense that features only one four year senior in Josh Smith.