Jacob Warren – Page 2 – Syndication Server

Jacob Warren discusses Tennessee’s first spring scrimmage

Tight end Jacob Warren discusses Tennessee’s first spring scrimmage.

Tennessee kicked off spring practices March 22 under second-year head coach Josh Heupel.

The Vols scrimmaged for the first time Saturday.

Following Tennessee’s first scrimmage during spring practices, redshirt senior tight end Jacob Warren joined the show “Off the Hook Sports” with Dave Hooker.

“Spring ball is starting to develop and really get into the thick of it,” Warren said. “I think it was good to get out there, it was good to finally just be able to just play the game. Anytime in practice there’s always a limit to the number of plays that is in a certain series, or in a certain period, or you only get a certain number of reps in each drill, whatever it may be, so it’s cool to be able to just put the ball down and experience all the different situations that you practice throughout different practices.

“Whether it’s first down, whether it’s third and long, third and short, fourth down situations, you practice red zone situations — four minute drills, two minute drills. Everything like that you work on individually throughout practice comes to fruition in these scrimmages because we’re truly just playing ball. That was great to be able to do and we had great weather, so it was just a really good time being out there competing with each other.”

The full show with Warren can be watched here.

[vertical-gallery id=51464]

Alex Golesh details Princeton Fant, Jacob Warren in second year of Vols’ offense

Alex Golesh details Princeton Fant and Jacob Warren in their second year playing in Josh Heupel’s offense.

Tennessee kicked off spring practices March 22 at Haslam Field.

Following Tennessee’s third spring practice, offensive coordinator and tight ends coach Alex Golesh discussed Princeton Fant and Jacob Warren.

Fant and Warren are in their second season as tight ends in Josh Heupel’s offense.

“Both of them now have a year in the system,” Golesh said. “That’s a tough spot to play in this offense. You’re moving around. You’re playing a bunch of different places. Same as everybody else, there’s a year of it now under their belt. A year ago, you coach so much scheme and just understanding what’s actually happening. Now they can play fast.

“Jacob has gotten bigger. He’s up to 254 (pounds). Princeton’s in the 240s. Their bodies are right. They’re both healthy. They have a really good understanding of what’s going on. In that room, for us right now, we really just have to find a three and a four. That’s what we didn’t have a year ago and we struggled at times because of that. Being able to get big and play in bigger sets at times, cost us a couple times, so beyond those two, it’s finding a three and a four there — that way we can get big and change formations based on personnel there.”

[vertical-gallery id=45300]

Jacob Warren details how ‘there is 100 percent confidence’ in Vols’ quarterbacks

Jacob Warren details how ‘there is 100 percent confidence’ in Vols’ quarterbacks.

Pittsburgh (2-0) defeated Tennessee (1-1), 41-34, in the Johnny Majors Classic at Neyland Stadium.

Redshirt junior tight end Jacob Warren recorded five receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown against Pittsburgh.

Warren was on the receiving end of an eight-yard touchdown from Hendon Hooker in the third quarter.

Following the game, Warren met with media and discussed Hooker replacing starting quarterback Joe Milton III in the first half due to injury.

“All of our quarterbacks are ready to go,” Warren said. “I truly believe that. Every single week, they are all taking reps in practice, so they know exactly what looks we are going to get and know exactly what plays to run, so there is a 100 percent confidence in all of them.”

Hooker completed 15-of-21 passes for 188 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He totaled 49 rushing yards on nine attempts.

Warren is from Farragut High School in Farragut, Tennessee.

[vertical-gallery id=46012]

Josh Heupel details Tennessee’s skill players stepping up this spring

Josh Heupel details Tennessee’s skill players stepping up this spring.

Tennessee practiced for the 11th time this spring on Saturday.

Saturday’s practice took place at Neyland Stadium and was Tennessee’s second scrimmage this spring.

First-year Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel met with media following the Vols’ scrimmage. He discussed which skill players that have stepped up during Tennessee’s two spring scrimmages.

“I don’t know that it’s been the same guys,” Heupel said. “I think you see guys periodically throughout practice or throughout the scrimmage make some plays. I think at the running back position, Jabari Small has done a fantastic job. He understands how we want to play. He understands what we’re doing. He’s been good without the ball in his hands and not just with the ball in his hands at the running back position. I feel like he’s in a really good spot, and he does some really good things. Dee Beckwith has had some flashes at the running back position, as well. He’s starting to understand how to play that position. A unique guy in that he’s played multiple positions in a short amount of time coming out of high school, having played some quarterback as well. He’s grown into a guy that is understating the running back position, learning how to play with pad leverage. His size is a positive, but he’s also got to learn how to get pad under pad, and he’s starting to do that.

“The tight ends, that group have all made plays. (Austin) Pope coming back off of injury, he’s done some really good things, obviously, he’s the most mature guy in the room or has the most experience. Princeton Fant has made plays. (Jacob) Warren has made plays. That’s a group that has great depth and a lot of consistency in it. They are able to play in the box and outside. At the wide receiver position, I’ve talked about those guys before, but I like that group as far as their understanding and competitive nature. Velus Jones Jr., (Cedric) Tillman have made some plays. Jalin Hyatt has made some plays, getting back on the practice field here and done a really good job.”

Tennessee will conclude spring practices with its annual Chevrolet Orange & White Game on April 24 at Neyland Stadium.

Kickoff is slated for 4 p.m. EDT.

Joe Osovet a ‘father figure’ for Vols’ tight ends

Joe Osovet a ‘father figure’ for Vols’ tight ends.

KNOXVILLE — Junior tight end Jacob Warren met with media Wednesday and discussed his position coach Joe Osovet.

Warren said Osovet “is going to try to be the best at everything he does.”

Osovet is in his first season overseeing the Vols’ tight ends.

“If it’s something he doesn’t necessarily know, he’s willing to listen to any of us,” Warren said of Osovet.

KNOXVILLE, TN – SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 – Tight end Jacob Warren #87 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

Osovet came to Tennessee in Feb. 2018 from ASA College where he served as head coach. He held a position of Player Development for Tennessee in 2018 during Jeremy Pruitt’s first season as the Vols’ head coach. Last season, Osovet served as Director of Programming for Football.

During his first season working with Tennessee’s tight ends, Osovet has been a father figure for the unit.

“I’m super appreciative of Coach Oz and everything he has done,” Warren said. “Just kind of the role he has taken in my life and my football career.

“He has really become a good father figure to us as the tight ends. It’s obvious he cares for us and is willing to do whatever it takes to make us comfortable and to teach us the right ways.”

Osovet is known as the RPO innovator.

In 2001, he started running an offensive scheme called a manipulation.

19 years later, the scheme used to manipulate defenders is the face of offenses throughout the sport of football, as they are now referenced as RPOs.

Jeremy Pruitt addresses Vols’ tight end unit

Jeremy Pruitt addresses Vols’ tight end unit.

KNOXVILLE — Game week ahead of the Sept. 26 season opener is approaching for Tennessee.

Tennessee practiced for the 16th time Thursday during fall training camp. Following practice, Jeremy Pruitt addressed the Vols’ tight end unit. It is a unit that saw redshirt freshman Jackson Lowe enter the transfer portal this week.

“The tight end position we are working several guys there,” Pruitt said on a Zoom call with reporters. “It is a competitive spot. There’s not much difference in the guys. How they go about their business every day, how they practice, how they compete, what kind of habits they’ve created. They control it. We want to play the best players, and we’ve got some guys who are competing hard there to do that.”

The tight end group is coached by Joe Osovet this season. The unit consists of Austin Pope, Princeton Fant, Sean Brown, Jordan Allen and Jacob Warren.

Pope underwent back surgery in July. Pruitt mentioned that Pope “is not going to play right now.”

“We’re working Princeton Fant, Sean Brown, Jordan Allen, Jacob Warren, so we’ve got a lot of guys that are getting reps in there,” Pruitt said. “Most of those guys have played very little football for us, so they’ve got to work on their consistency, they’ve got to be able to block the C-area, they’ve got to play fast, they’ve got to be good communicators.

“That’s one position that you really need to be instinctive to have a feel because we ask the tight ends to do a lot. It’s a position where there’s lots of competition. I have confidence in all of those guys, but somebody’s got to separate themselves.”

Jim Chaney discusses Vols’ tight ends unit having ‘a lot of competition’

KNOXVILLE — Tennessee’s tight ends unit is headlined by senior Austin Pope in 2020.

Pope announced he underwent back surgery on July 16. Following Tennessee’s third practice of fall training camp, third-year UT head coach Jeremy Pruitt mentioned that Pope has been practicing and “should be ready to play for the opener” at South Carolina on Sept. 26.

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney discussed the Vols’ tight ends unit on a Zoom call with reporters during there second week of fall training camp.

“Austin is that, he’s a stabilizing force,” Chaney said. “He’s a good kid, been around football a long time. We like what he brings to the table. He will always be that consistent kid that we like.

“Behind him, we have Princeton Fant, who is a young man who bounced around a lot early in his career. We feel real comfortable where we have him right now doing what he needs to be doing. Jacob Warren is doing a fine job. There is a lot of competition in the room. They all have a little different skill set it seems like, it’s interesting to me. Behind him you have Jordan Allen and you got Sean Brown. You got some other guys that are just mixing around. There’s a lot of competition there, waiting on someone to jump above the other ones and emerge as a solid football player. They’re just continually learning. You’re talking about guys that haven’t played a lot of football for us in those five. That is a position that we are trying to force feed real fast on development and we are doing it, hopefully, through competition.”

KNOXVILLE, TN – AUGUST 26, 2020 – Tight end Princeton Fant #88 of the Tennessee Volunteers during 2020 Fall Camp practice on Haslam Field in Knoxville, TN. Photo By Caleb Jones/Tennessee Athletics

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s tight ends in 2020

A way-too-early preview of Tennessee’s tight ends in 2020.

The tight end position is one that Tennessee has not gotten a lot out of in the past two seasons, in terms of pass-catching production.

Dominick Wood-Anderson came in out of junior college in 2018 as one of the top signees in Jeremy Pruitt’s first class, but ended his UT career with just 408 yards and three touchdowns on 38 catches over two seasons.

It is no secret that the Vols have utilized the tight end position as more of a run blocking tool, evidenced by the amount of playing time seen by redshirt junior Austin Pope in 2019. Pope started 11 games and played in all 13, but caught just four passes for a total of 21 yards. When Pope was in, the Vols were comfortable running behind him.

Pope is back for his redshirt senior year in 2020, with a few other unproven prospects waiting in the wings. Tennessee knows it has a solid group of blocking tight ends, but can one of them step up as a receiving threat in Pruitt’s third season?

Offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is no stranger to deploying two-tight end sets, and only one other member of the group brings back extended experience in 2020. As Princeton Fant enters his redshirt junior year, he will be asked to step in with more snaps towards the end of a college career that has seen him bounce from running back to tight end. Fant caught just two balls for 19 yards in 2019 while appearing in eight games.

The unknown quantities in tight ends coach Brian Niedermeyer’s room are the duo from the 2018 class, Sean Brown and Jackson Lowe. Brown at 6-foot-5, 241-pounds was the No. 40 tight end in his class in the 247Sports Composite, while Lowe was a 4-star prospect rated as the No. 12 tight end prospect.

Neither player made an impact for Tennessee in 2019, but will steadily be in the rotation in 2020 after the Vols missed out on highly-touted prospects Arik Gilbert and Darnell Washington.

An outlier in the group is rising redshirt junior Jacob Warren out of local Farragut High School, who was committed to Butch Jones as part of the 2018 class and stayed with the program when Pruitt took over. Warren appeared in limited action through five games in 2019, and has been working on improving his size since Pruitt arrived on campus. Warren is now measured at 6-foot-6, 241-pounds on Tennessee’s official website.

Niedermeyer has proven to be an elite recruiter on UT’s staff, but has not gotten the production that was expected, particularly from the outgoing Wood-Anderson. Run-blocking will be a strength of the unit in 2020, but the ability to provide another option for whoever is operating under center for Tennessee is a question mark.