UT coach Derek Dooley walks among players during the Orange and White game Saturday at Neyland Stadium.
Staff Photo by Angela Lewis/Chattanooga Times Free PressKNOXVILLE – Derek Dooley watched his football team take some steps in the desired direction over the course of Tennessee’s four-week spring practice.
And though the Volunteers’ second-year coach shared the same general good feeling as a number of his fellow coaches do this time of the year, he knows there’s still plenty of progress to make between now and next season.
“Improved, but a long way to go,” Dooley said after Saturday’s annual Orange and White Game concluded the Vols 15 spring practices. “There’s some areas where we feel like we’ve got good enough players to continue to develop, and there’s other areas where we’re going to need some help. That’s when June comes around.”
June means the arrival of possibly 20 reinforcements, a handful of which will have to provide depth and fill key contributing roles for the Vols next fall. But spring practice is about the current players, who share the same sentiments as their coach.
“I think we made a big leap this whole entire spring by playing fast [and] playing together,” senior tailback Tauren Poole said. “There’s a sense of urgency for this team because we want to win, and we want to win fast. I see it, I know the coaches see it but we have to take it into summer and continue to work. [We’re] definitely not where we want to be.”