Tennessee quarterback Joshua Dobbs said he has been working throughout the offseason to help the Vols improve in all offensive aspects.KNOXVILLE - It's understandable if quarterback Josh Dobbs has grown weary of being asked the same questions about Tennessee's passing game for months.
Whether it's about him improving his accuracy and raising his completion percentage or the Volunteers making strides throwing the ball downfield, Dobbs has known such questions were coming this offseason.
The upbeat senior smiled Sunday when asked if he was tired of them.
"From my standpoint, I'm trying to get better in all aspects of my game and trying to push this unit to get better in all aspects - run game, pass game, anything we can do to be a more successful offense," Dobbs said.
"You guys keep asking the same questions, and the same answers (are) given, so you can keep asking."
In Thursday night's season opener against Appalachian State, Dobbs and Tennessee's offense will begin answering them on the field instead of in front of the camera.
On Saturday, Vols coach Butch Jones reiterated how much emphasis his team put on improving its downfield passing game this offseason, and Tennessee will need to increase its efficiency on such plays to take the offense to the next level.
There are concerns despite offseason improvement. The Vols will have some first-year players contributing at wide receiver, meaning Josh Malone, Josh Smith and Preston Williams will have to shoulder the production load. And tackles Drew Richmond, a first-time starter, and Brett Kendrick will have to show they can hold up in pass protection.
"The passing game's all about timing and rhythm," Dobbs said. "It's all about 11 hats being on the same page (with) protection, running backs, receivers and tight ends. A lot goes into that, and we've put in a lot of time throughout the spring, the winter, the offseason, the summer.
"We've made a lot of strides in that part of our game as well as in the running game and the short passing game and other parts of the game. We've improved overall as an offensive unit."
'Spitting image'
For the first three years of his Tennessee career, Cameron Sutton knew LaDarrell McNeil and Brian Randolph were lining up behind him as the starting safeties.
The senior cornerback acknowledged he'll have to adjust to new players anchoring the secondary, but he's got plenty of confidence in the starting combo of Micah Abernathy and Todd Kelly Jr. with Stephen Griffin and Nigel Warrior the reserves.
"It took a little bit to get over (McNeil and Randolph leaving)," Sutton said. "I still talk to those guys a lot to this day. The guys that have stepped up to that role, I'd pretty much say they're a spitting image of them, really.
"Obviously we miss those guys, but as far as knowing what to do out there on the field and being communicative and getting guys lined up and all those things, they're definitely going to help us out."
Byrd in flight
Of Tennessee's first-year wide receivers, freshman Tyler Byrd is expected to handle the largest workload and make the most significant impact right away.
The Vols could see Byrd's potential shortly after he arrived on campus this summer.
"You see it in the summer when you're doing routes on air," Dobbs said in reference to passing drills with no defenders. "You just see his speed. It just bursts out. He's raw. He played a lot of defense in high school, so it was a little different.
"But then you see his dedication, getting on the JUGGS machine, getting extra catches in before workouts and then after workouts going up in the film room and trying to get a head start on the offense. He's carried that same dedication on the practice field. You see it him, but you also see it in the other freshmen who we know need to step up. They know that they'll have a big impact this year, and they're really embracing it."
The shoe fits
Two weeks into the preseason, coaches began comparing freshman corner Baylen Buchanan to a freshman version of Sutton, but the only one who could validate the resemblance was Sutton.
And he believes the comparisons are accurate.
"(He) comes to work each and every day," Sutton said. "I've never heard him complain - not one time - about whatever his reps are, whatever his job was out there on the field. He's always coming to me asking questions and always around the coaches asking questions. He does what he's supposed to do academics-wise and off-the-field-wise.
"We haven't had any trouble from him or anything like that."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.