The second spring of the Josh Heupel era has arrived.

This spring looks much different than Heupel's inaugural spring on Rocky Top a year ago, particularly for Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks.

As was the case for all of the coaches on staff, Banks spent last spring teaching the schemes within his defense and learning about the players he had inherited.

Theoretically, the focus this spring would be on developing the returning players even more than they were able to last year because they don't have to teach the system. That will mostly be the case, but for Tennessee's secondary, it'll have to do so despite the room being somewhat depleted.

“It’s obviously a challenge any time you don’t have your full allotment of guys out there," Banks told the media on Thursday. "But at the same time, another man’s loss is another man’s opportunity. We’ve got some young guys and obviously some guys that you guys probably won’t even know in this room, but there is an opportunity there."

Last year's starting corner Alontae Taylor and starting nickleback Theo Jackson have graduated and moved on, leaving big shoes to fill. But Tennessee's secondary is mostly depleted this spring due to injury.

Redshirt-junior nickel Brandon Turnage, redshirt-junior corner Kamal Hadden and sophomore corner DeShawn Rucker will all miss spring due to various injuries. Senior corner Warren Burrell will be limited as well.

“The standard doesn’t change," Banks said. "We expect them to play hard. We expect them to be physical and all those good things, but would we like those other guys out there? Absolutely, but at the end of the day, even if they can’t do something physically, those guys are obviously working hard in the classroom. I expect those guys to be ready when the time is right.”

Tennessee's corners are the position most banged up within the secondary. With the safeties all returning from a year ago and being mostly healthy, they could receive some reps at corner throughout the spring.

“The more you can do, the more versatility you have, the better it is for us schematically," Banks said. "Someone gets dinged up and we need to move the next-best guy in, you don't want to be handcuffed because all he can play is safety or all he can play is corner.

“It’s really awesome, to be honest, because those guys are getting some really good reps out there, going against some really good wideouts on the edges. Whether they move back inside or stay out there, I think in the long run it’s going to work to their favor.”

At corner, however, one of the few currently practicing is Desmond Williams. The junior college product signed with the Vols in February and enrolled early.

This spring provides Williams with a golden opportunity to establish himself.

“Dee’s been good," Banks said. "I think Dee’s done a nice job just trying to learn exactly what we’re doing and how to do it. But so far, he’s working at a pace that we’re satisfied with. I think he understands he’s taken another step in class, so he’ll continue to get better. It’s obviously just Day Two, but I saw some improvement from the first day to the second, so I expect him for him to continue on that path.”

Tennessee completed practice No. 2 on Thursday morning. The Vols will be back on the practice field Saturday morning for practice No. 3.