The Vols scrimmaged for the third time Saturday morning at Neyland Stadium. Here are notes from the field.

Offense

*Justin Worley and Riley Ferguson have separated themselves from the pack in the race for the starting QB job. They saw significantly more work than Dobbs and Peterman today and where the most effective signal callers on the field. Ferguson and Worley each worked with the first and second team. Ferguson got the most work of any QB during the scrimmage.

*If the season started today, Worley would be the starter—but Ferguson is right behind him. A few youthful mistakes, like a costly interception that was returned for a touchdown by Jalen Reeves-Maybin, are keeping Ferguson from drawing even with Worley. Ferguson also made the terrible decision to run out of bounds on a snap that was supposed to be the last play of the game. Jones stopped practice and yelled over the microphone, “It’s the last play of the game! What are you supposed to do? Throw the ball in the end zone!!!” Ferguson will have to clean up his decision making in order to take over the starting job.

*Worley had a nice day throwing the football. He opened the scrimmage with a back shoulder throw to a covered Marquez North on the sideline for around a 20 yard gain. He also had a great throw to LaVon Pearson for a touchdown down the seam. He was generally on target with his throws both in 11-on-11 drills and in individual portions of practice. He’s more consistent than he was at any point last season, but still struggles at times to push the ball down the field.

*Riley Ferguson made a fantastic throw for close to a 40-yard touchdown to Josh Smith in the corner of the end zone. Smith was covered well but made a great play to haul in the touchdown. Smith caught two touchdowns on the day and played with both the first and second team. Ferguson threw at least 3 touchdowns.

*Joshua Dobbs looks to be the third QB on the depth chart right now. He didn’t see as much work at Worley or Ferguson but did see more snaps than Peterman. He had a couple of effective runs but was inconsistent throwing the football.

*Nathan Peterman made a great 45+ yard throw to a covered Cody Blanc on one of the first series of practice. He also stood in the pocket and delivered a laser TD pass to Josh Smith.

*All the quarterbacks held onto the football too long. For much of the scrimmage the defense had more sacks than the offense had completions. All four QBs ran for their lives much of the day and multiple defenders lived in the backfield.

*Marlin Lane worked with the first team at running back and struggled to find anywhere to run. He didn’t have a bad day, just didn’t have many opportunities without defenders draped all over him in the backfield. Jalen Hurd worked with the second team and had a costly red zone fumble. He struggled to get going. Devrin Young outperformed the other Vol running backs and saw the most action. He was effective getting outside and catching screens. He’s had a great spring and should be a weapon this fall.

*The offensive line really couldn’t block anyone. The Vols never got the ground game going and UT’s starting defensive line lived in the backfield. Maggitt, Johnson, Vereen, and Williams had the Vol QBs running for their lives. Jacob Gilliam worked at first team left tackle—over JUCO signee Dontavius Blair. Gilliam and Blair were constantly beat by UT’s ends. The Vols have to find some answers at tackle or it’s going to be a long season.

*Daniel Helm and Ethan Wolf split time at tight end. At receiver, Von Pearson, Marquez North, and Josh Malone worked with the first team. In four WR sets, Josh Smith joined them. North lined up in the slot multiple times today—that’s something to watch for this year. Jason Croom, Johnathon Johnson, Cody Blanc, and Josh Smith worked with the second team. Blanc had a couple of nice catches including an impressive TD grab.

*LaVon Pearson had another standout scrimmage. In addition to multiple catches, he had a 40+ yard TD run that was called back for holding. When he finds a seam, he has the speed to take it to the house. The Vols will find creative ways to get him the ball this season. He’s a playmaker and needs as many touches as possible.

*Josh Malone and Marquez North had multiple drops on the day. That’s uncharacteristic for them but it something to watch.

We’ll have observations about the defense/special teams for you later this weekend.