Spring Primer: Vols face management challenges in the offensive trenches

Spring football practices are designed for individual development, experimenting with positions and growing depth through competition.

For Jeremy Pruitt's first Vol offensive line, the next five weeks might about survival more than anything else.

Coaches would like to have 15 or 16 scholarship offensive linemen on a roster. Tennessee won't have that in at any point this year. Worse, this spring Tennessee will barely have half that many available lineman.

Right now, Tennessee doesn’t have enough healthy scholarship guys to field a two-deep on the offensive front, creating a real challenge for Pruitt and offensive line coach Will Friend to manage things this spring.

The Vols will enter their 15 workouts that start next week with 11 scholarship offensive linemen on the roster. But the Vols will be without Chance Hall, who's future in football is unknown, and star sophomore Trey Smith, who's not expected to be back until the summer at the earliest.

Then there is redshirt freshman K'Rojhn Calbert, who will be limited as he recovers from knee surgery and has been dealing with knee issues since he was a freshman in high school.

Calbert only a couple of weeks of practice under his belt as a college player, too.

Nathan Niehaus has gone through winter workouts, but after missing most contact work for the entire 2017 season, Niehaus' durability is obviously a concern.

That leaves Tennessee with just seven linemen who are slated to start spring practice at 100%. It's by far the smallest number that I have personally ever seen in 25 years of covering Tennessee and it's a far cry from the start of fall camp last August when everyone wondered how the coaching staff would keep the deepest unit on the team happy. But graduation, retirement, a transfer, and now medical issues has left the Vol offensive trenches the thinnest unit on the roster.

Which leaves a real question for Pruitt and offensive coordinator Tyson Helton: How do you manage things over the next six weeks? What can you realistically get done?

From a big picture standpoint, Friend has his hands full. Every new coach wants to use their first spring practice to establish themselves. They want to install their standards. Tennessee wants to be more downhill and more physical in the run game, but with limited numbers on the OL, that will be hard to establish this spring.

Physical work is still a must, but Friend’s focus this likely be more about individual development. Even many of the healthy offensive lineman are inexperienced.

Drew Richmond, now a redshirt junior, is the only OL available this spring with at least double-digits appearances under his belt.

Junior Marcus Tatum has played in six games. Redshirt sophomore Ryan Johnson has played in 12 games, counting special teams, but he did see his first action on the OL until the Alabama game last season.

Redshirt sophomore Devante Brooks is a converted tight end who played in four games in 2017, making his first appearance on a football field late in the season for the first time in nearly three years. Sophomore Riley Locklear has played in just four games in his career, too. Calbert and Niehaus have not played in a college game. True freshmen Ollie Lane and Jerome Carvin will be going through their first college practices next week.

With no Trey Smith, Friend won't find hist best five this spring. The real question is if Tennessee can find any answers. Can Tatum maintain weight and hold up at tackle? What are the best positions for the newcomers? Same Locklear and Johnson, who have both played guard and center.

How Helton and Friend manage their offensive line shortcomings this spring is going to be an interesting storyline ine. What kind of help in the trenches Friend can find is going to be vital for Jeremy Pruitt's first year leading the orange because even when spring comes to a close on April 21st, there will be plenty more questions than answers for the OL heading into the 2018 season.