KNOXVILLE - For the past couple of years, the loudest voice during Tennessee's football practices belonged to Butch Jones, especially when the head coach would bark orders into the microphone he always carried.
The Jones staple was noticeably absent Tuesday, when the Volunteers opened the fifth spring of his tenure.
And there's a reason for the approach.
Jones wanted to take a step back and see how the five new assistants on his staff interacted with players at practice, and what he saw only exacerbated his confidence the changes will pay off.
"I feel the same way I did walking on the football field: I'm excited," Jones said afterward. "We got great teachers, great communicators, great coaches that have great expertise, and I'm excited to get back and meet as a staff and say, 'OK, tell me your guys's thoughts on day one. What can we do better?' Today I was a little bit of a quiet coach.
"I sat back and I took notes. For me, I'm not only coaching the players, but I am coaching the coaching staff on our expectations on the grass and in the meeting rooms. Our coaches have done a tremendous job, and what I see is they've built great relationships with our players already from a trust factor and a communication standpoint."
The players who spoke after practice echoed the message of optimism and excitement about adjusting to their new position coaches, all of whom face unique and demanding challenges in their first practices with the Vols.
New quarterbacks coach Mike Canales is taking a hands-on approach to Tennessee's most important offseason storyline - the competition to replace Josh Dobbs as the starting quarterback for the Vols. Redshirt freshman Jarrett Guarantano said Canales, whom the players call "Coach Chico," is "getting the best out of" all the quarterbacks on a daily basis.
"I think that he's helped us out so much from the time he's been here," Guarantano added. "He's been showing us all different types of fronts, defenses, getting us accustomed to the offense. We have a couple new wrinkles that we're going to be putting in, and we're just getting ready."
Canales, a longtime friend of Jones, is Tennessee's first full-time quarterbacks coach since Mike Bajakian guided the position while he was the offensive coordinator in the first two seasons under Jones, and his energy during practice was obvious Tuesday.
"It's been awesome," quarterback Quinten Dormady said. "He's obviously been a coach for a long time in the NFL and college. He's been a great add to the coaching staff and to the quarterback room."
New wide receivers coach Kevin Beard already may have won the award for the most hands-on new coach. The former Miami Hurricane wore orange-and-white cleats during practice, which helped him in one drill demonstrate how to fire out of a stance. His challenge is molding a unit with eight first- or second-year players once the three 2017 signees arrive.
Walt Wells may be in his second year at Tennessee, but he's in his first as the full-time offensive line coach. His position group returns the most experience and should have the most competition this spring and beyond. The Vols ought to benefit from a singular voice after Mike DeBord and Don Mahoney essentially split duties there the past two seasons.
Former Michigan coach Brady Hoke's first challenge with Tennessee's defensive line is managing a spring with four or sometimes five key contributors sidelined by injuries or offseason surgeries.
Then there's the matter of filling the gaping void left by Derek Barnett and two seniors at defensive end, as well as tapping into and developing unproven players like Alexis Johnson, Jonathan Kongbo, Kyle Phillips, Quay Picou and Darrell Taylor.
The toughest challenge may fall to Charlton Warren, the former Air Force player and coach tasked with reviving a Tennessee secondary doomed by poor technique and fundamentals last season.
"Coach Warren, he brings energy, he brings a lot of details, and that's what we need," senior cornerback Emmanuel Moseley said. "I really like him. I think the whole group likes him.
"I knew that he was in the military, so I knew he was going to be serious about certain little things like details and things of that nature, and I know that's what we need. I like that he was pushing us on that."
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.