Stephens working on new motion

Tennessee quarterback Nick Stephens has been working in the weight room and tweaking his throwing motion to improve his accuracy and consistency.

Nick Stephens isn't the same quarterback he once was.

First, the junior from Flower Mound, Texas, has added 15 pounds of muscle to his 6-foot-4 frame. Second, Stephens has retooled his throwing motion after an evaluation from UT's first-year coaching staff.

"We decided we wanted to change a couple of things," said Stephens, who is expected to compete with senior Jonathan Crompton for a starting position in preseason camp. "I think that's helped me out a lot and I'm throwing the ball well right now."

Coach Lane Kiffin, offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and quarterbacks coach David Reaves were involved in the decision. Chaney, who worked with NFL star Drew Brees at Purdue, was at the heart of the tinkering.

Stephens once held the ball next to his right, throwing shoulder. He's now moved the ball to the middle of his chest in hopes of improving his consistency and accuracy.

"That's one of the things that I felt was holding me back last year. I hate telling Coach Chaney this because it gives him a big head, but I feel that it has been helping a lot," Stephens joked.

To improve his ball position, Stephens is studying NFL quarterbacks.

"They get paid a lot of money to do what they do," Stephens said.

The fundamental change has been challenging as Stephens tries to overcome lifelong habits.

"Making a change like this is a big deal," Stephens said.

Extra repetitions are one of the keys to the transition. That extra work has helped his chemistry with UT's receivers.

"You can't throw enough balls to your receivers," he said. "You've got to be to the point where you can put a blindfold on and know where they are going to be.

"It comes down to reps."

Stephens' mechanics weren't the primary concern last spring. Instead, it was the injury he suffered before spring practice began. A broken hand/wrist sidelined him for most of spring drills.

Stephens didn't throw for a month after spring practice and dedicated himself to rehabbing the joint to improve his hand strength.

Stephens struggled to hold onto the ball in the few spring practices in which he was able to participate.

"It feels fine," Stephens said. "I've been throwing the ball well."

His work in the weight room is helping Stephens, who looked bigger during a media opportunity Tuesday to discuss summer workouts.

Stephens said his goals are to break some of C.J. Leak's all-time weight lifting records among quarterbacks. Stephens, however, doesn't claim to be the only one working hard. He said the entire team has "bought in" this summer.

"It's been a great turnout," Stephens said. "All the seven-on-seven (drills) last year, it wasn't like that."

Power 'T' Point: To expedite the adjustment to a new defense, UT's coaches have made Power Point presentations available to their players.

"You can bring your little zip drive and download it if you want," linebacker Rico McCoy said. "It will have every defense in there. It's crazy. If you want to learn, you can learn."

And they'd better. UT's coaches have methods to see if their players are soaking up the necessary information.

"We get quizzes and stuff," McCoy said. "It's exciting to see how much you know - or how much you don't."

As per NCAA rules, UT's coaches can't work with their players during the summer. That hasn't stopped their impact on the program.

"There's not really a whole lot you can do but this coaching staff has blown me away," senior linebacker Nick Reveiz said. "They've really gone out of their way to make sure we have the tools to get better.

"It's up to us to use it. I think we've made so many strides this offseason and this summer to get better; it's been awesome."

Vol Pups I: Junior defensive end Chris Walker said freshman receiver Nu'Keese Richardson and freshman defensive back Nyshier Oliver have caught his eye.

"I'm really impressed with Nu'Keese, just how quick he is and how fast he's picked up on things," Walker said. "Nyshier Oliver, he has the quickest feet of the freshmen I've seen."

Walker said he's also been impressed with receiver/defensive back Marsalis Teague and tailback Bryce Brown.

Tailback Montario Hardesty wasn't ready to anoint any of the newcomers as All-Americans quite yet.

"We haven't put on the pads," the senior said with a smile. "We'll see."

When asked about UT's freshmen, Hardesty was quick to commend his sophomore backup.

"I think a guy that's been overlooked is definitely Tauren Poole," Hardesty said. "Tauren Poole has definitely been working hard.

"He had a good spring. He's one of the stronger guys on the team. You can't overlook Tauren Poole because he definitely gets after it hard."

Vol Pups II: Freshman Jerod Askew has been working at strongside linebacker this summer, according to McCoy. Many thought he would begin his UT career at middle or weakside.

Drew Edwards contributed to this report.