KNOXVILLE — After a 1-year hiatus due to renovations at Neyland Stadium, the Orange & White Game was once again played in front of a live studio audience. Tennessee fans showed up in droves, with an announced crowd of 58,473 witnessing the scrimmage, the 6th-largest crowd to watch the UT spring game.

A 40-yard FG from JT Carver gave the White team a 17-14 win over the Orange, so hopefully you took the Orange team and the points at your sportsbook of choice.

More than 20 players on the 2-deep roster didn’t dress. That list includes the top 2 RBs (Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright), arguably the 3 best WRs (Ramel Keyton, Bru McCoy, Squirrel White), plus the best LB (Aaron Beasley).

There were a whole bunch of guys getting serious playing time on Saturday afternoon who won’t see many significant minutes this season, so I don’t know how much we should read into Saturday’s performance. But we have 4 1/2 months to wait until a game that means something, so let’s at least make a few observations.

This was the first chance for fans to watch 5-star freshman QB Nico Iamaleava in person, and he showed a few glimpses of why he is the future of this program. In the 2nd quarter, Iamaleava threw a pass while on the run to fellow freshman Ethan Davis that brought a chorus of “Ooooo’s” from the crowd. It was a 30-yard toss down the sideline, placed perfectly in between double coverage and over the shoulder and right onto the hands of freshman TE Ethan Davis. Iamaleava ended the day 8-of-16 for 112 yards.

Joe Milton went 9-of-13 for 79 yards, including a short TD pass to Kalen Webb. Nothing happened Saturday that makes you think that if healthy, Milton won’t be the starter on Sept. 2 against Virginia.

Gaston Moore, the 3rd-string QB, was a pleasant surprise, going 8-of-11 for 94 yards and 2 scores. The UCF transfer hasn’t played more than a few snaps in his first 2 seasons in Knoxville, but he certainly knows Heupel’s system. In an ideal world, he’s not called upon, but everything isn’t sunshine and puppy dogs. Moore is 2 plays from getting the call.

Even without Small and Wright, the running game looked sharp. Freshman DeSean Bishop saw a lot of action. Bishop is a local product, graduating from Karns HS in Knoxville, and was a late flip from Coastal Carolina to Tennessee for the Class of 2023. Bishop has had an impressive spring, and on Saturday picked up 88 yards on 24 carries.

Another freshman, Camren Seldon, got 10 carries for 43 yards, including a 24-yard TD run. Seldon was also active in the passing game with 3 catches for 43 yards.

In terms of the wide receivers, Webb had one of the plays of the day, hauling in a 39-yard pass in between 2 defenders.

Tennessee’s tight ends had their moments. Hunter Salmon caught a 9-yard TD pass while Davis had 3 catches for 53 yards.

Defensively, Cameron Miller, Wesley Walker and Kalib Perry tied for the team lead with 4 tackles apiece, with Miller also picking up a sack. Arion Carter, Jayson Jenkins, and Jackson Ross also were credited with a sack. But hitting the QBs was a no-go and plays were whistled dead before any contact.

The Tennessee defense also had 2 takeaways.

This game was played much of the time with a running clock, so even though it is a Heupel offense, we didn’t get a lot of snaps. That’s of course by design. Fewer snaps reduce the chances of injury, and there’s no need to take any risks heading into the summer. After the game, Heupel said that some the players held out, including a few WRs, would have been able to play had this been a real contest.

It will be real soon enough, and Saturday provided enough reasons to stay excited.

Joe Milton cover photo via Twitter @Vol_Football