Tennessee's preseason football camp changed abruptly Monday for redshirt freshman Rod Wilks. After trying to cover receivers the last three weeks, he will try to beat coverage the rest of the preseason.
Wilks, a 6-foot, 220-pound safety, was moved to wide receiver to shore up a position decimated by injuries. The latest injury, to starting wide receiver Gerald Jones, prompted the move.
"It's not free agency to go to or trades," UT coach Lane Kiffin said. "So we went to Rod Wilks. We made a deal with the defense.
"Obviously, that's hard to do - bring a guy over this late. It does give us another body over there, and he's played wide receiver in the past, though not for us."
As a senior at Smyrna High School, Wilks set a school record with 77 receptions for 1,170 yards and 20 touchdowns.
"I'm going to start working extra time, extra routes, just working my butt off," he said. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes."
He joins a position that has become heavily dependent on freshmen. The group also includes Brandon Warren, who was a tight end last season.
"We have five scholarship receivers healthy and three of them are true freshmen," Kiffin said. Freshman Marsalis Teague has been the most consistent pass-catcher of the three freshmen.
Nu'Keese Richardson has made a number of outstanding catches, including two in Monday's practice. He had a one-handed catch on the sideline and added an acrobatic catch of a Nick Stephens pass in the middle of the field.
Zach Rogers has added more speed to the wide receiving corps but hasn't caught the ball consistently.
With all the injuries, senior Quintin Hancock is now the most experienced of UT's healthy receivers, and he has only 18 career catches. Warren had 10 catches last season after catching 28 passes as a freshman tight end at Florida State.
Former starting receiver Austin Rogers is out for the season with a knee injury. Junior Denarius Moore has missed all of preseason camp with a foot injury.
Kiffin said he was hopeful Moore could play against Florida (Sept. 19).
"It could be longer," he added. "We'd like it to be shorter."
Kiffin is trying to be optimistic about Jones as well, speculating on a three-week return. The early estimate was "four to six weeks," following a high-ankle sprain in Saturday's scrimmage.
Jones also has missed practice time with a wrist injury.
Brown Back: Kiffin was encouraged that freshman running back Bryce Brown was able to practice after being limited in Saturday's scrimmage by a hip injury.
"Bryce pushed through, did almost everything (in practice)," Kiffin said. "That was really good."
Brown provided a highlight video, knocking senior linebacker Rico McCoy to the ground on a short run. And he broke wide open on a pass from Jonathan Crompton, after what appeared to be a busted assignment.
It wasn't all good for Brown. He lost a fumble.
Douglas Impressive: Redshirt freshman Aaron Douglas, who is making the transition from tight end to offensive tackle, was rewarded for his play in Saturday's scrimmage.
"Aaron had a great scrimmage, and that's why we gave him some work with the ones - to push (Jarrod) Shaw," offensive line coach James Cregg said.
Short Hits: The team practiced in shorts and shoulder pads. But as customary in this camp, there were still plenty of jarring collisions.
Tight end Luke Stocker could vouch for that.
He lost control of a pass after being jolted by safety Dennis Rogan, who has edged ahead of Prentiss Wagner in their battle for a starting position. Rogan ran with the No. 1 defense throughout practice.
Later, Stocker was on the receiving end of a big hit from defensive tackle Wes Brown.
Extra Points: Senior running back Montario Hardesty continues to expend great effort on every carry and had a big gain early in practice. ... Freshman safety Janzen Jackson should have intercepted a Crompton pass but bobbled the ball into the hands of fullback Austin Johnson, who turned the catch into a big gain. ... Cornerbacks Art Evans and Anthony Anderson got most of the work with the No. 1 defense. Freshman cornerback Mike Edwards saw time with the first team. ... Freshman Montori Hughes, who started Saturday's scrimmage, stayed ahead of senior defensive tackle Dan Williams, who has 19 career starts.
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knoxnews.com.
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Comments » 22
TomMorello writes:
Heisman.
smashmouth98 writes:
i hope Wilks is able to adjust & contribute. He was all over the field Sat. There is plenty of opportunity for him.
tdtnsee writes:
Could someone give any info on wilks? Like 40 time etc.... The people on the other sites have talked about him before saying he's a freak of nature , I haven't heard a lot about him so Idk if its some inside joke or he's really good, so any info would be nice.
GO VOLS!!!!!!!
jclowers writes:
Another fumble by Brown. For every good thing he does, he seems to fumble a lot so far. Hopefully he is getting it out of his system now, but it's something to watch.
basevol31#584179 writes:
Here is your info on Rod Wilks: http://kentucky.scout.com/a.z?s=48&am...
Volfan615 writes:
I've seen some of Rod's games back when he was in high school. Let me tell you this guy is a playmaker and loves to go up and get the ball at its highest point. He was a pretty good kick returner too. Man I wonder what it would be like to see him face off against his brother (Marsalous Johnson).
the10sevol writes:
i notice the scouting report listed him at 196#, and this article says he's now 220#. good jump during his redshirt year. i like his attitude, that's gonna be the difference in this year's team.
GBO
MidTennVol writes:
Man, if ever there was a time to start and play outstanding freshmen, it's this year. Nobody knows what to expect from this new Tennessee team...except "don't expect much."
The impact on building depth and on recruiting is formidable.
All the superstar HS juniors and seniors out there who we want are watching. They will see immediately playing time for guys who are good enough to be chosen to play immediately in the SEC by a largely NFL staff.
Holey moley -- can you imagine the impact on recruiting if we start 4-7 freshmen in the swamp? And if those freshmen help us be competitive throughout the season?
That sends a very clear message to every superstar recruit out there: if you're good enough to play immediately in the SEC, then you will be on the field.
82cat writes:
I know Rod well forty time nike camp 4.46
I also stood next to and talked to Cutcliff when he watched Smyrna practice and was recruiting Rod.
He was very high on Rod and said he saw him as a Meachum type receiver.
Rod has an NFL lower body especially legs.
You can go to you tube and put in rod wilks and see highlights
Couchdummy writes:
Best John Adams article in some time! This the type of info I like to read on GO Vols Xtra!!!
bonescat writes:
I am not trying to be mean, but how were the Roger's brothers rated three star recruits? Unless the journalists ignore every positive thing they do, all I hear is that they consistently drop passes.
In regard to Wilks, it looks like a corner or even a saftey will have difficulty bringing him down.
STNVol09 writes:
Having watched Rod and his brother all through their HS careers, Rod was the better playmaker with more size than Marsalous. If Marsalous had Rod's body, I think he would be a starter as he delivers more "hit" at the point of impact. If Rod works hard he can contribute to the success of the team.
lomas98 writes:
I don't think Gerald Jones has been healthy at any point in his career. The wrist injury he had was supposed to keep him out longer, but he fought through it and appeared to be ready now. Now the ankle injury which can linger on. Hopefully he can fight through this as well and be back sooner than later. He is the only receiver other than the unproven freshman who can make something happen after the catch. Here is to another speedy recovery Gerald!!
VolFanInAtl writes:
Good grief. So, what percentage of the starters are going to be freshman? Its starting to sound like an all-star high school team.
allvol32 writes:
From Scout:
Wilks is not afraid to go over the middle and take the hit but he can also beat you deep or make you miss after the short catch.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Good luck, young man.
You are sorely needed.
RockyTop1998 writes:
Zach Rogers has added more speed to the wide receiving corps but hasn't caught the ball consistently. Hmm sounds alot like Austin
doubledown writes:
More information in a concise manner and less personal opinion and rumor mills.. great
daniellovesutfootball writes:
Hey all I just joined today and thought this would be a good time to post. I watched Wilks when he played for Smyrna. I was in band at Coffee Co, where no one ever wants to play for UT, or at least has the talent for UT, anyways Wilks always scorched our secondary. He is an outstanding player to watch and I really hope this transition goes smoothly for him.
GO VOLS!
micbrooks#212023 writes:
Hopefully he can shed a few pounds ala our tight-end/wide receiver. Hard to believe he put on 24 pounds of muscle in a red shirt year. Suspect some of this was intentional since he thought he was going to play safety. for those of you who like to see anything vol in the news, Southern Living has a nice picture of our cheerleaders fronting an article on tailgaiting
eldr5#344719 writes:
The Rogers brothers were rated 3 stars because of their elite speed and huge numbers in high school. Zach is an 18 year old true freshman. Don't give up on him yet. Nuke has dropped a ton of balls this fall too and many of us on here somehow think he is the savior of UT Football.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
Maybe Wilkes is a Pickens in the rough.
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