Spring Game observations

I'm going to tell you what you should take away from Tennessee's Orange and White spring game. Where Tennessee fans tallied the second highest spring game attendance in the program's history.

1. The Tennessee passing attack needs work. Now the quarterbacks were not as bad as they looked on Saturday, they are throwing to a bunch of walk-on receivers who would not be seeing the field if Tennessee was not fighting so many injuries at that position. That said, neither Nathan Peterman or Justin Worley has established themselves as the man for the position. Too many under-thrown and missed passes for Tennessee coaches or fans to be comfortable.

2. Alden Hill ran for over 100 yards on 18 carries Saturday. The redshirt freshman continued his strong spring and has really pushed himself into contention for meaningful carries by the time Fall rolls around. He will never be a breakaway threat, but he rarely goes down on first contact and has improved immensely in reading the holes created by the offensive line and taking the yards that are available.

3. Michael Palardy has had as inconsistent of a kicking career as any Tennessee kicker in history. He was three for three on Saturday with makes from 42, 52 and 36 yards. That sort of consistency gives Tennessee fans some cautious optimism that he'll live up to his billing as the number one kicker coming out of high school.

4. Tennessee's secondary allowed only one busted coverage on the day, immense improvement from last year. Sophomore Brian Randolph and junior Justin Coleman look like solid consistent options back there and may even be on the verge of breakout seasons this year. That unit certainly doesn't resemble the one that was torched over and over again last year.

5.Tennessee tallied 9 "sacks" on the day, I put that in quotations because since the quarterbacks were wearing non-contact jerseys, the defense only had to touch them to end the play. Freshman Corey Vereen dominated the second team offensive line en route to four sacks, his motor and burst off the edge may force him into the starting lineup come Fall. Redshirt freshman Latroy Lewis also spent a significant amount of time in the backfield and has the stature and athleticism of a classic 4-3 defensive end. Senior Jacques Smith also looked strong when he absolutely blew up Pig Howard on a reverse play. No one is pronouncing this defensive line as a strength until they do it against quality competition in the Fall, but they look better in the early going than any Tennessee defensive line in the last four or five years.