Vols' Alexis Johnson working his way back into program

Chance Hall (76) plays right tackle for Tennessee.  The Vanderbilt Commodores visited the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC football action November 28, 2015.
Chance Hall (76) plays right tackle for Tennessee. The Vanderbilt Commodores visited the Tennessee Volunteers in SEC football action November 28, 2015.

KNOXVILLE - Alexis Johnson is nearing a return to Tennessee's football team.

Coach Butch Jones indicated after Thursday afternoon's practice that the defensive tackle, suspended for the past six months following his arrest in February, was working his way toward a full reinstatement to the program.

Johnson faces some internal requirements and expectations to complete his return.

"Alexis Johnson was out here a little bit today conditioning," Jones said. "He'll continue to have to work his way back into our football program and on our team. There's been no timetable set. He understands the requirements that have been laid out in front of him, things he has to accomplish. He did very well in the classroom last semester, but it's a day-by-day process."

Jones elected to keep the specifics of those requirements among himself, Johnson and Tennessee's administration, though he said Johnson must revisit some of the principles the rest of the team viewed during the its "Fourth-and-1" program in the summer, when the Volunteers host multiple speakers on an assortment of topics.

"He was really only a couple weeks in our program," Jones said, "so we have to get to know him."

It's unclear how soon Johnson will be reinstated and how quickly he could help the Vols on the field.

"This is the first day I've seen him," Jones said. "I can tell you he probably has a lot of work to do, but that's understandable. That's why we're going to take it day by day and not put any timetables on anything. The whole process is going to be looked at one day at a time."

Hall sidelined

Offensive tackle Chance Hall will miss four to six weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery Thursday.

"We've got great news on that," Jones said, expressing gratitude it wasn't a season-ending kind of injury, "and we look forward to getting him back."

Hall was battling with veteran Brett Kendrick for the starting right tackle job, though Kendrick had put himself ahead with his performance in last Saturday's scrimmage.

Jones said Kendrick has been "very steady" this preseason and again praised freshman Marcus Tatum for doing "very well" this month.

"He's an individual who continues to gain the weight necessary," Jones added. "He has very, very good length. I've been very, very impressed with him."

Jones suggested center Coleman Thomas would get more work at tackle "just for security purposes."

(Almost) game time

It's less than two weeks until Tennessee's opener and the Vols have shifted from training camp into preparing for the opener against Appalachian State in 13 days, and Jones would like to see fewer mistakes in practice.

"We've got to start getting game-ready now," he said. "The intensity and everything has to pick up. It's basically game week for us in our mindset."

Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com

Upcoming Events