Vols notebook: Tennessee's top-rated 2018 recruit still absent

The SEC is the only major conference that does not allow its member institutions to develop their own policies on alcohol sales at athletic venues such as Tennessee's Neyland Stadium.
The SEC is the only major conference that does not allow its member institutions to develop their own policies on alcohol sales at athletic venues such as Tennessee's Neyland Stadium.

KNOXVILLE - With eight of 25 preseason practices for Tennessee's football team completed, freshman linebacker J.J. Peterson still has not reported.

Peterson, a four-star linebacker out of Colquitt County High School in southern Georgia, was the highest-rated recruit in the Volunteers' 2018 signing class.

Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said at SEC Media Days in July that he "absolutely" expected Peterson to be available when preseason practices started this month.

"He's got a few things that he's cleaning up that we're waiting on to get some information back," Pruitt said at the time, "and we expect to see him in August."

On Aug. 2, Pruitt briefed media heading into the start of preseason practice. He acknowledged that "we do have one signee that's not here yet."

"He has a couple things that he's working on," Pruitt said. "But he'll be here as soon as he can get it done, so then we'll have all 110 guys here."

Several members of Tennessee's 2018 signing class enrolled in January and went through spring practices with the Vols. Most of the others arrived in time for the first of two summer school sessions in order to go through conditioning work and player-led skill work.

Peterson and four-star defensive lineman Brant Lawless were the only two players from Tennessee's 2018 signing class who had yet to enroll by the beginning of preseason practice.

Lawless, who played at Nashville Christian School, will instead enroll at North Carolina, according to multiple reports. Two former Tennessee staff members, Robert Gillespie and Tommy Thigpen, are on the Tar Heels' staff.

Which sport?

Football practice looked more like a cross country workout for Tennessee's defensive line Saturday.

Defensive line coach Tracy Rocker began position drills at the start of practice by sending his players on a 200-yard sprint from one side of a practice field to the other.

As the final players straggled back in, Rocker looked to see who finished last. It was John Mincey, who was required to run the sprint again. Moments later, Rocker decided to send the entire group through the sprint a second time.

This time, Mincey and fellow freshman Kingston Harris finished last.

Finally, the group settled in to start a drill. After a few rounds of hitting a practice dummy, though, a miscommunication by a few players resulted in Rocker sending the entire group on a third sprint. A walk-on freshman, Airin Spell from Brentwood Academy in the Nashville area, was first to complete the final sprint.

Elite observers

Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer watched the period of Saturday's practice open to the media on the sideline with former Vols defensive back Iquoris "Inky" Johnson, who is now a motivational speaker. Johnson's right arm was permanently paralyzed after a collision during Tennessee's win over Air Force in 2006. He now lives in Atlanta with his wife and children.

Contact David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @DavidWCobb and on Facebook at facebook.com/volsupdate.

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