KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee used Saturday afternoon to work on some situational football with Neyland Stadium and a warm, sunny day as the backdrop.
And aside from a couple of moments of individual flair, it was largely a sloppy practice on offense for the Volunteers.
Head coach Butch Jones put his team in two sets of situations: The offense took over possession at its own 1-yard line, and then various overtime scenarios.
Here's a recap, along with some notes and observations from Tennessee's practice.
> Dropped passes marred Tennessee's offense. Von Pearson tried to one-hand a catchable ball coming out of his break, but the potential first-down sailed through his hands, which prompted Jones to remind him "big-time players make that catch." That miscue came when the offense was buried deep in its own territory.
Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin runs through a drill during the Volunteers' practice inside Neyland Stadium on April 11, 2015.In the overtime work, tight end Ethan Wolf had a bad drop on a would-be nice gain, and Pig Howard had a pass thrown slightly behind him bounce off his hands as well.
> Rising sophomore safety Evan Berry continued his strong spring practice. He didn't have two interceptions and a big hit like he did last Saturday -- at least during the open period -- but he was constantly near the football and making tackles near the line of scrimmage. It's obvious he's playing really fast right now.
> Freshman quarterback Jauan Jennings, running the second-team offense against the second-team defense, was the only quarterback to get Tennessee a first down in the first set of situations.
On third down, he hit Johnathon Johnson in the flat for a first down and, after walk-on running back Kendrick Turner had a nice first-down run, was on target with a slant pass to Josh Malone for another first to move the offense out of trouble.
> On starting quarterback Josh Dobbs's two series, Howard was stopped short of the sticks on third down and Dobbs threw incomplete on third down the play after Pearson's mistake, though Josh Smith drew a pass interference penalty against Malik Foreman on the first play of that series.
> Running back Jalen Hurd probably had the play of the day for the offense, as he took a handoff, burst through the line to the second level of the defense, bounced his run outside and outran everyone to the end zone for a big-time touchdown run.
> Dobbs ran one in for a score later in that series, but he was ruled down as Jones was very generous in awarding the defense tackles against quarterbacks and players in non-contact jerseys (Hurd, Howard). Turner capped that drive by getting around the edge and scoring.
Tennessee receiver Josh Malone turns upfield after catching a pass during the Volunteers' practice inside Neyland Stadium on April 11, 2015.> After redshirt freshman linebacker Gavin Bryant was awarded with a sack of Quinten Dormady, Aaron Medley hit a field goal from 46 yards, but the rising sophomore kicker pushed one from about 33 yards wide right on the ensuing series for the first-team offense.
> The second-team offense, led by Jennings, overcame a holding penalty on freshman guard Chance Hall to get in field-goal range in an overtime scenario in which the offense was down by three points, and George Bullock was good from about 34 yards.
> Drops from Helm and Howard and a holding penalty on right tackle Brett Kendrick ruined the first-team offense's series in a scenario in which it needed a touchdown and two-point conversion, and Howard was ruled down short of the first down.
> Dormady made a nice first-down throw to tight end A.J. Branisel on fourth-and-long on the ensuing series, but the second-team offense could not find the end zone to cap the series.
> Running back Alvin Kamara (thigh bruise) again sat out as the Vols appear to be playing that situation very cautiously.
> Receiver Cody Blanc did not practice, and tight end Neiko Creamer, a redshirt freshman who certainly looks the part, again sat out.
> Linebacker/defensive end Chris Weatherd is practicing with his left wrist taped pretty heavily, so it's likely he's playing through some type of injury.
More practice coverage online and in Sunday's Times Free Press. Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.