Some observations from the Orange and White game

The Tennessee Volunteers’ spring game took place on Saturday afternoon at Neyland Stadium before a limited capacity crowd of around 10,000 fans.

Here are my reactions to the game…

First Half

• DeSean Bishop got the first carry with the first team. Wondered if that would be Khalifa Keith or Bishop. Keith started off with the second-team offense.
• Boo Carter blew up Keith on a 4th and 2 in the first quarter. He got in quickly and undercut Keith for a loss. Carter has gotten a lot of praise from his coaches and teammates so far, and with those kinds of plays, it’s not hard to see why.
• Three offsides penalties in the first quarter. Don’t need that kind of lack of discipline during the season.
• TE Charlie Browder had two good catches and runs at the end of the first quarter and start of the second. I admittedly didn’t have him on my radar as much as the new transfers, but he moved well and looked the part of a good pass catcher there.
• WR Dayton Sneed had a nifty catch and run on a WR screen for the game’s first score. He juked a defender and got past another thanks to a tremendous block by freshman WR Mike Matthews on the way to the corner of the end zone.

• QB Jake Merklinger got loose for a nice 20-yard run. He dodged the rush, stepped up, and took off into the open field. He followed that up with a 26-yard scramble for a touchdown. The Savannah, GA product showed he’s not just a pocket passer.
• Nico hit WR Chas Nimrod for a 27-yard touchdown late in the second quarter. Just a straight go and Nimrod beat his defender by a mile with a good throw. Easy peasy.
• Nico was 6 for 6 for 91 yards and a touchdown in the first half. A solid showing.
• Gaston Moore threw a dart to Matthews, who outran defender Jordan Matthews to the corner of the end zone for a 62-yard score with 10 seconds left in the first half. Perfect throw in stride, Matthews took a great angle to the pylon. Very well done.

Second Half

• Woo buddy. Welcome to Rocky Top, Chris Brazzell II. Brazzell just ran past Temple transfer CB Jalen McMurray on a go route and left him in his wake on a 71-yard touchdown connection from Merklinger late in the third quarter. That’s the player fans are hoping can take the Vols’ offense to another gear this year.
• Two more offsides penalties in the third quarter (that I saw; I could have missed one). At least five for the game. Not. Acceptable.
• Sneed and Kaleb Webb had a couple of nice catches and runs early the fourth quarter on back-to-back plays. Sneed was absolutely a winner from today. He looked shifty and quick, and he caught the ball well.
• Well, thanks to technical difficulties with about 5 minutes left in the game, I didn’t get to see the end of it. Shrugs.

So yeah, that was what I saw that stuck out to me. What did you all think? What did you notice, or who stuck out to you all? Let’s hear it.