Emmanuel Moseley sparkles in Vols' open practice

KNOXVILLE - Lining up across from a wide receiver with a few thousand fans in the stands can be a lonely place for a defensive back.

It's exactly where Tennessee cornerback Emmanuel Moseley wants to be.

The sophomore was stingy in multiple one-on-one matchups against the Volunteers' receivers, breaking up one pass and intercepting another in the end zone, during Saturday night's open practice at Neyland Stadium.

"Every time we go against the receivers, we don't want them to catch the ball," Moseley said. "That's only going to better us and better our receivers."

Moseley came on at the end of his freshman season, and he's poised to carry the momentum over into 2015. Playing the corner opposite from Cameron Sutton means Moseley may see plenty of balls thrown to receivers he's defending, but he's going into the season much stronger and more confident.

It's been a long time since Moseley showed up on campus at 145 pounds last January. He's now nearing 190 pounds, and his long skinny arms are more toned. He looks like an ideal cornerback.

"Emmanuel's playing with a lot of confidence right now, and he's done a great, great job," Vols coach Butch Jones said. "It's been well-documented, the addition of his weight, but he continues to take care of his body. He's extremely competitive. He has great length at the corner, which we want, and he's very competitive. You saw that tonight."

Moseley's best work came against Von Pearson, whom he called the most vocal of Tennessee's receiving corps.

"I really like to stay quiet and let my play do the talking," Moseley said. "I feel like that's the best way to be about it. Especially growing up around Cam in the secondary, Cam's not really a loud guy. He just goes out there and takes care of his business. With him being out there, you just feed off of him. You just want to go out there and do the same thing."

Line losses

Though Jones was pleased with the pass protection during team periods Saturday night, Tennessee's offensive linemen have struggled to block their defensive counterparts in one-on-one and half-line drills.

It's not helped that the Vols have had a rash of injuries up front.

Freshman Jack Jones was held out of practice for precautionary reasons, though his right ankle was heavily taped. Jashon Robertson continues to miss practice, but he's expected to return this week. Brett Kendrick, who had some good repetitions at guard Saturday, appeared limited.

Redshirt freshman Charles Mosley and Dylan Wiesman, who like freshman Chance Hall returned Saturday, handled first-team reps at guard.

Coach Jones said he was "very encouraged" by freshman right tackle Drew Richmond's play.

"We're trying to identify the top seven individuals," the coach said. "We look forward to getting that group back together and trying to work some continuity and some consistency up front."

Tennessee tidbits

Safety Brian Randolph returned to practice after sitting out Wednesday, and fellow safety Evan Berry returned in a noncontact jersey. Linebacker Cortez McDowell, safety Stephen Griffin and cornerback Justin Martin remain out. Cornerback Darrell Miller and linebacker Dillon Bates did not practice.

The Vols are holding Jalen Hurd out of practice for precautionary reasons, and fellow running back Alvin Kamara wore a noncontact jersey Saturday night, but freshman running back John Kelly did not practice. That allowed freshman Joe Young to get more reps, and he had a couple of nice runs during some team periods.

Receivers Pig Howard and Jason Croom were limited, but tight end Ethan Wolf returned and played well.

Defensive end Derek Barnett unleashed a lethal spin move on right tackle Coleman Thomas on one rep of one-on-one drills between the offensive and defensive lines. He may have adopted that move from an NFL star.

Coach Jones said the sophomore has become "very intrigued" with Houston Texans star J.J. Watt and studied video of the two-time NFL defensive player of the year to get ready for the season.

"Derek is an individual who works his craft every day," Jones said. "He studies the game every day, and he plays with a lot of passion and a lot of energy. He's worked on his repertoire."

Tennessee's three punters took center stage for a portion of practice, with walk-on Trevor Daniel booming a couple and freshman Tommy Townsend also hitting some good boots, and Maryland transfer Nate Renfro had his moments as well.

"They have the ability," Jones said. "It's just a high level of consistency that we're looking for. We're not anywhere where we need to be in terms of naming a starting punter. This competition will be ongoing, but you see they have the ability."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com