Harrison Bailey's efforts to make a push for Tennessee's starting quarterback job have been placed on hold, but Austin Pope's quest to return at tight end is going better than expected.
The Volunteers held their third preseason football practice Friday afternoon, but Bailey has yet to participate.
"He has not practiced," Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt said Friday evening on a Zoom call. "At the last press conference, I told y'all we had some guys who were in some social quarantine, and he's one of the guys who is."
Bailey is certainly among Tennessee's most intriguing players, with the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder from Marietta, Georgia, having arrived in January as the nation's No. 3 pro-style quarterback in the 2020 class, according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings. He was the No. 99 prospect overall.
While Bailey's potential impact has been delayed, Pope is working his way back into the picture. The 6-4, 235-pound fifth-year senior from Knoxville announced July 16 on Twitter that he had undergone surgery for a herniated disc, adding, "I really would appreciate any support in these tough times."
Harrison BaileyPope was an 11-game starter last season, and starting Sept. 26, when the Vols open their season at South Carolina, is not out of the question.
"He's been out every day and continues to improve," Pruitt said. "If he continues to improve like he has the past five weeks, he should be ready to play in the opener."
Pruitt also said that junior offensive lineman Cade Mays, the former Knoxville Catholic five-star prospect who played at Georgia the past two seasons before transferring to Tennessee in January, continues to work like everybody else. Mays had his waiver for immediate eligibility denied recently by the NCAA, and Pruitt used Friday's Zoom as another stage to plead his case.
"The NCAA and everybody associated with college athletics always try to serve the kids, right?" Pruitt said "Cade's a guy who, based off none of his doings - he had nothing to do with it. There is a circumstance obviously with a lawsuit between his parents and the University of Georgia, and it was something that started while he was there. I'm sure he worked hard to be the best player he could be, and I'm sure there was probably pressure on both sides, from their coaching staff to him as a player.
"It's just something that doesn't happen a whole lot, so it is an unusual circumstance. Him electing to transfer and us applying for a waiver - to me it's just common sense. If there's a lawsuit going on with your employer, it's probably not the healthiest situation in the world, and that's not bashing anybody at Georgia. It's common sense to me, so hopefully he'll get a chance to play this year."
Pruitt also announced that Tamarion McDonald, a freshman defensive back out of Memphis Whitehaven, elected to have shoulder surgery this summer and will be redshirted.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.