Winners & Losers From Saturday's Orange & White Game

Tennessee's first spring game of the Josh Heupel era is behind us. While it was a little different from a traditional spring game, competition still exists, which means winners and losers. Now that we have had time to take a breath and , we take a deeper look at the winners and losers from the day's event.

Winners

It starts at the QB position, as always. Harrison Bailey has faced strong criticisms all spring. His skill set has been questioned, as well as his ability to be the guy long-term for the Vols. The thing to remember is Bailey is still essentially a freshman, despite the time he played last fall. Bailey missed 41 days of football activity last fall and didn't get a spring. He is picking up a new offense, but he showed that he was a gamer on Saturday. Read all of the 20-minute practice reports that you want, but Bailey Bailey is a film room junkie; his progression from last season was evident as he was decisive, threw the ball well to all levels of the field, and moved well in and out of the pocket which has been the strongest criticism he has faced since high school. Overall, Bailey won the event and should help his chances going into the fall.

Jack Jancek

The walk-on probably isn't likely to crack Tennessee's rotation too often, but he shows just how deep the Vols are at the position. He had a stellar day and should have the attention of his coaches after Saturday's outing.

Fred Orr

Same for Orr. There are guys in front of him, but he certainly turned heads on Saturday. He looked like a scholarship running back. He ran with power between the tackles, and he did a nice job at the second level.

Warren Burrell

There weren't a lot of bright spots for Tennessee's defense on Saturday, but Burrell created an explosive with a pick-six off of Henson Hooker. Burrell didn't get the better end of the call on a questionable PI call against Ramel Keyton in the end zone, but he was sticky in coverage all day, and he should see his role increase as he comes out of the spring healthier and stronger than he has been at Tennessee yet. Burrell has started multiple games for the Vols, and this could be the boost he needs heading into his third season.

The Offensive Line

Tennessee's offensive line was dominant on Saturday for the majority of the day. Regardless of rotation, the unit consistently took it to the front seven of the defense, allowing Tennessee's QB's ample time to throw and the running backs to explode into the second level. There's not much more that needs to be said about the dominance.

The tight ends

It felt like in one spring game, the group had more catches than they did all of last fall. Alex Golesh made sure he kept them involved and each guy seemed to make a play or two. Fant, Warren and Campbell each flashed at times throughout the day.

The losers

Back to QB here. Hendon Hooker got the start based on the previous rotation coming in, but Hooker struggled at times in the passing game. He did not look comfortable in the pocket and didn't have much success stretching the ball down the field until the last play of the game when Cedric Tillman made a diving, juggling catch. He looked most comfortable out of the pocket attacking the line of scrimmage. Hooker will have some ground to make up in Tennessee's QB race, which Josh Heupel has asserted is wide open.

The rest of the DB's

Tamarion McDonald and Jaylen McCollough made a couple of nice plays throughout the day, but Burrell's play was by far the best for Willie Martinez's unit. Tennessee's receivers, not just Jancek, should really be in the win column. They routinely had success against the defensive backs. It will be a long summer for this position group if they don't change something.

The defensive line

The unit had surged in the last week and a half leading into Saturday's game, but they struggled for the majority of the contest. There were some key absences here, but the veteran-laden unit just did not make plays that Rodney Garner expects. Hopefully, they will be able to return to full strength sooner than later and build on their strong close before the spring game.