During his weekly Monday press conference, Tennessee head coach Butch Jones seemed certain both Marcus Jackson and Coleman Thomas would be on the practice field come Tuesday.
But when Tuesday rolled around, neither Jackson nor Thomas were in attendance when the media arrived to watch practice.
Jones stated, however, that Jackson did eventually practice for the Volunteers, coming in and out for rehabilitation. Thomas, though, sat out because of his left ankle injury.
“Coleman rehabbed the entire practice,” Jones said. “So I think Marcus right now is a little bit ahead of Coleman in terms of availability. We fully anticipate Marcus going through full practice tomorrow. Coleman we will have to wait and see how it goes and tonight’s rehab and then into tomorrow.”
As Jones mentioned on Monday, if the freshman right tackle is unable to go for Wednesday’s practice, he probably won’t see the field when the Vols face off against Alabama inside Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
In that case, it would be a combination of redshirt freshman Brett Kendrick and redshirt senior Jacob Gilliam who line up in place of Thomas.
“The message (to those guys) is prepare yourself,” Jones said. “Everyone has to be prepared and ready to play. I see a hunger, I see excitement, but again we will know a little bit more tomorrow.”
With three offensive line starters having gone down with injuries already this season, the depth of the unit up front for the Vols has taken a hit, but even that hasn’t shaken the trust that the lineman have in each other.
“We’re all confident in anybody that has to step up and play,” redshirt junior center Mack Crowder said. “Obviously, the best five are going to be playing every single week, so the confidence level is fine and were just ready to go out there and continue to improve.”
Hurd healthy: For the first time in weeks, Jalen Hurd trotted onto Haslam Field without a green no-contact jersey on his back.
After being banged up for the Vols past two contests, the majority of questions thrown at the freshman running back after Tuesday’s practice had to do with his health.
As the barrage of inquiries about his shoulder raged on, Hurd nonchalantly answered as if the injury that limited him to two carries against Chattanooga two weeks ago never happened.
“The running back position is one of durability,” Jones said. “All the great running backs in this game have tremendous durability. You have to have mental toughness. You are getting hit on every single snap, whether its on pass protection or running the football, so it takes a little bit of a different mindset to play that position and Jalen has it.”
As for the health of that nagging shoulder, the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native asserted it was 100 percent, even stating that it was giving him no problems prior to the Vols’ contest against Ole Miss.
“(Getting healthy) just took its time,” Hurd said. “It just took little steps.”
Hurd, however, was not the only running back to shed his green jersey on Tuesday, as Marlin Lane also sported a regular white jersey for the first time in awhile.
The senior tailback’s injured left ankle, though, was still heavily taped.
Reluctant return: Despite seeing Justin Worley participate fully during Tuesday’s practice, Jones didn’t seem overly thrilled when he updated the status of his senior quarterback, who injured his right throwing shoulder late in Saturday’s contest.
“(He’s) making progress,” the second-year head coach said. “We will see how it goes. Again, just like everyone he was out there for practice, but we will see.”
