KNOXVILLE – Alexis Johnson is nearing a return to Tennessee’s football team.
Coach Butch Jones indicated after Thursday afternoon’s practice that the defensive tackle, suspended for the past six months following his arrest in February, was working his way toward a full reinstatement to the program.
Johnson faces some internal requirements and expectations to complete his return.
“Alexis Johnson was out here a little bit today conditioning,” Jones said. “He’ll continue to have to work his way back into our football program and on our team. There’s been no timetable set. He understands the requirements that have been laid out in front of him, things he has to accomplish. He did very well in the classroom last semester, but it’s a day-by-day process.”
Jones elected to keep the specifics of those requirements among himself, Johnson and Tennessee’s administration, though he said Johnson must revisit some of the principles the rest of the team viewed during the its “Fourth-and-1” program in the summer, when the Volunteers host multiple speakers on an assortment of topics.