KNOXVILLE -- Tennessee's offensive line could get a nice boost by the potential return of tackle Chance Hall against Florida on Saturday.
Head coach Butch Jones on Wednesday declared the sophomore, an All-SEC freshman team selection in 2015, "good to go" when the 14th-ranked Volunteers host the No. 19 Gators a little more than a month after he underwent knee surgery.
"We're excited about that," Jones said. "Jalen (Reeves-Maybin) had a very good, productive practice as well. We fully anticipate them both playing on Saturday, and they had good, physical practices yesterday. That's very, very encouraging."
Whether Hall will start or not has yet to be determined, though. Tennessee's coaches want to use Wednesday's practice to complete their evaluation of the offensive line. From there they will decide if Hall will return to the starting lineup.
After missing spring practice following shoulder surgery Hall struggled to start preseason training camp, but he was starting to get back in his groove when he got hurt.
The Vols were forced to go with Drew Richmond and Brett Kendrick as their tackles for the first two games of the season, but Richmond's struggles prompted Kendrick's flip from right to left tackle and center Coleman Thomas moved to right tackle against Ohio last week.
Hall's introduction could mean a third different starting lineup in four games for the offensive line.
"We put him in yesterday when we were in pads and he did very well," offensive coordinator Mike DeBord said. "We did not know where he would be. He had to have surgery, and when you come back, you just never know where a guy will be, especially on the offensive line where, we've talked before about that, that's like playing in a phone booth and so many things can happen quick.
"He really had a really good practice yesterday, so we'll continue to evaluate today."
After missing the Ohio game, wide receiver Josh Smith (ankle) was using crutches to get around campus on Wednesday morning, so his status for the Gators is up in the air.
Jones was asked why Evan Berry, Tennessee's dynamic kick returner, hasn't gotten a chance to showcase his playmaking potential on offense.
Berry is seeing his return chances limited by opposing kickers booting the ball through the end zone, and he's not close to cracking the rotation at safety.
"We've got to get him back to 100 percent full strength, and I give Evan a lot of credit," Jones said. "He's really worked very hard with maintaining all that, and you'll see a little bit more with in terms of his role. He can impact the game with a kickoff return. Our players believe in him. As we know he has very, very good speed.
"He's also been a weapon for us on punt (coverage), he's been one of our best cover guys."
Junior college transfer Alexis Johnson is "getting closer," Jones said, to making the rotation at defensive tackle as his conditioning improves every day in practice.
Johnson played late in the game against Virginia Tech but did not get into the Ohio game last week.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.