KNOXVILLE — With Tennessee set to start spring football practice on Tuesday — third-year coach Butch Jones will hold his pre-spring news conference today — the Times Free Press is taking a position-by-position look at the Volunteers as they return to the practice field to continue preparations for the 2015 season. Up next to wrap up the preview is special teams.
WHO’S BACK
* Aaron Medley (So.): One of the top-ranked kickers in the 2014 class, Medley came in and backed up those accolades with a strong freshman season. He was 20-of-26 on field goals, the fourth-most makes in a single season in program history and the second-most makes in the SEC, and hit at least one in every game. Five of his six misses came from 40-plus yards.
* George Bullock (R-Jr.): The Knoxville product missed his freshman season due to injury, backed up Michael Palardy in 2013 and handled 10 kickoffs in two games with two touchbacks early last season before Medley took over the job.
More spring practice previews
* Quarterbacks * Running backs* Wide receivers* Tight ends* Offensive line* Defensive line* Linebackers * Defensive backs
* Patrick Ashford (R-Sr.): The former quarterback at Carson-Newman College and Morristown West High School handled the holding duties on field goals last season, but he’s probably more memorable for the touchdown pass he threw on a fake against Missouri.
* Matt Giampapa (R-Sr.): In his third year at Tennessee after he was one of just 19 freshman snappers in the country at Michigan State in 2011, Giampapa replaced J.R. Carr and handled the snapping on all of Tennessee’s 80 punts and 69 field goals/extra points.
* Cam Sutton (Jr.): The cornerback added punt returns to his duties as a sophomore last season. Sutton totaled 158 yards on 14 returns and took one back 76 yards for a touchdown — the Vols’ first punt-return touchdown since 2012 — at Vanderbilt. He was one of just SEC seven players to return a punt for a score in 2014.
* Evan Berry (So.): The freshman took over kickoff return duties midway through last season and performed well. He had a 68-yarder against Chattanooga in his first game in the role and had big returns against Kentucky and Missouri. His 29.5 yard per-return average on 14 returns was the second-highest in the SEC behind Missouri’s Marcus Murphy.
* Malik Foreman (Jr.): The cornerback began sharing kickoff return duties with Berry midway through the season and recorded 70 yards on four returns, with his longest a 23-yard return at South Carolina.
WHO’S GONE
* As a fifth-year senior, Matt Darr had his ups and downs, but he handled all 80 punts for Tennessee last season, averaging 42.2 yards (9th-best in the SEC) and placing 30 boots inside the opponent’s 20-yard line. Worth noting, though, is that the Vols were sixth in the SEC and 36th nationall in net punting in 2014.
* Walk-on kicker Derrick Brodus, most remembered for coming from the frat house couch, as former Vols coach Derek Dooley told it, to kick for Tennessee in a 2011 win against Middle Tennessee State, was a senior last season.
Tennessee’s Devrin Young carries against MTSU.* Running back Devrin Young, who often handled kickoff return duties and returned 13 kickoffs for 280 yards prior to his injury in 2014, and receiver Jacob Carter, who often spelled Sutton and recorded eight punt returns, was as well.
WHO’S COMING
* Tennessee’s 2015 class included three specialists. With Darr gone, punter Tommy Townsend could come in and do what Medley did last season as a freshman, and long snapper Riley Lovingood figures to get a look there. Preferred walk-on kicker Laszlo Toser was a standout at Ooltewah High School.
DID YOU KNOW?
Based on some research done by Tennessee’s coaching staff, the Vols were ranked fourth nationally when all six phases of special teams statistics were combined. From 2013 to 2014, Tennessee jumped from 91st to 11th nationally in punt coverage and 120th to 23rd nationally in kickoff coverage, based on yards-per-return average. Those units were comprised heavily of true freshmen, too.
KEY QUESTION
Who emerges in the competition at punter? Chances are Tennessee pursued Tommy Townsend and offered the U.S. Army All-American Game selection to come in and be its punter in 2015, but he won’t arrive until the summer and will have to earn the job in preseason camp.
Can anyone — likely one of a couple of walk-ons — take advantage before then? Trevor Daniel, a third-year player out of Dickson County High School, traveled to a couple of road games as Darr’s backup last season and has a strong level, though he can be erratic. The other options could be preferred walk-on Troy Waites or fourth-year walk-on Ryan Ault.
Medley can punt and would have punted in a couple of SEC road games, but it may be too much to ask him to handle all three kicking duties.
Contact Patrick Brown at pbrown@timesfreepress.com.