GAMEDAY INFO
What: Tennessee’s Orange & White GameWhen: Saturday, 2 p.m.Where: Neyland StadiumTickets: Admission and parking are both free.Fan Appreciation Day: Head coach Butch Jones and Tennessee players will be available for autographs and pictures for an hour starting at 11:30 a.m. The waiting line for fans will begin forming at 7 a.m. at Gate 7 of the stadium, which will open at 10:30.Weather forecast: Partly cloudy skies and light winds with a high temperature of 74 degrees.
Wide receiver Jauan Jennings makes a leaping catch during Tennessee's practice at Haslam Field on March 8, 2016
Wide receivers Jauan Jennings (15) and Vincent Perry (10) wait for passes from quarterbacks Quinten Dormady (left) and Josh Dobbs (right) during Tennessee's practice at Neyland Stadium on April 2, 2016.KNOXVILLE - Continuing what's become a weekly occurrence the past few weeks, Tennessee football coach Butch Jones confirmed two more injury losses after a Tuesday spring practice.
The Volunteers will be without wide receivers Jauan Jennings and Vincent Perry for what's left of the spring due to undisclosed injuries.
Those losses, plus the absence of Josh Smith, who's expected to be available for Saturday's Orange & White Game, left Tennessee with three available scholarship wide receivers Tuesday and made it even more difficult for the passing game to move forward.
"Different guys and different timing will always make it tough," quarterback Josh Dobbs said after practice, "but you always get good fundamental work."
Jones said Jennings and Perry are expected to return to availability in a couple of months.
The coach said the shorthanded receiving corps, which also hasn't had Josh Malone all spring, has had its benefits.
"I think Preston Williams has grown leaps and bounds over this training camp," he said, "and I think that's a direct correlation to the amount of reps that he's received."
Jennings and Perry missed Saturday's scrimmage, during which the passing game missed the mark.
"There's obviously a lot of different things that went into Saturday," Dobbs explained. "We were down a couple of receivers and some different guys. The defense was doing different stuff. We were doing different stuff and it was all scripted situations, so you've got to make the most of them.
"We had good plays. Cody (Blanc) had a big touchdown catch, Preston did some good things, Jeff (George) is coming along and other guys stepped up. We got better and we improved. That's all you can do every time you get on the field."
Cornerback Justin Martin returned to practice Tuesday after a lengthy absence for what was termed an illness, but offensive lineman Jack Jones and defensive end Dimarya Mixon were among the absentees.
Safety Stephen Griffin hurt his wrist/hand last week and will miss the final week of spring.
'Special' news
The Vols' spring finale Saturday may not be much of a game, but Jones is trying to build suspense for it. He said there will be a "special announcement" at halftime of the festivities.
"You're going to have to be there to find out," he continued. "It's something that we haven't done before. We're going to do that and have some fun with that as well."
The format of the final practice will mirror what the Vols typically have done in their open practices the past three Augusts. It'll be a combination of 11-on-11 scrimmaging, interpositional one-on-ones and challenges for the quarterbacks and kickers. The Vols will use a modified scoring format.
"I know they're looking forward to Saturday," Jones said of his players. "We need everyone (there). It's going to be a great recruiting day. It's going to be great weather-wise. A lot of great former players are coming back. (There's) a lot going on, and we need everyone to fill Neyland."
Said Dobbs: "That's what we talked about today, just finishing out the spring. We're still focusing on the details. Obviously you get to the last week and it's a grind. You've been hitting for four straight weeks, so (we're focused on) finishing out the spring strong and still being crisp on our details and everything."
Newcomer numbers
In a recruiting hype video released on social media Tuesday, Tennessee revealed the jersey numbers for its incoming 2016 signing class. Junior college defensive end Jonathan Kongbo will wear No. 1, while quarterback Jarrett Guarantano will don No. 2. Defensive backs Nigel Warrior and Tyler Byrd will wear Nos. 18 and 15, respectively.
The rest of the released numbers: offensive linemen Ryan Johnson (70), Marcus Tatum (68) and Nathan Niehaus (57); wide receivers Marquez Callaway (9), Latrell Williams (8), Brandon Johnson (17) and Corey Henderson (20); linebackers JaQuain Blakely (48) and Daniel Bituli (35); running back Carlin Fils-aime (27); and tight end Devante Brooks (84)
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.