The Tennessean With all the focus on running better and developing a tougher, more aggressive defense. Tennessee's special teams quietly have had an up-and-down spring. Very much like the 2011 season. Coach Derek Dooley says kicker Michael Palardy “looks like a different guy out there” this spring. That’s good because Palardy battled inconsistency in 2011 while also sharing punting duties with Matt Darr. Palardy converted nine of 14 field goals in 2011 but hit just three of seven from 40 yards and longer. He did convert a 52-yarder against Alabama that was the Vols’ longest since Jeff Hall kicked a…

By PATRICK BROWN / Times Free Press KNOXVILLE — There's been a change in the rules. That doesn't mean Tennessee wants to change its ways. The NCAA tweaked its rules regarding kickoffs for next season, but Charlie Coiner, the Volunteers' special teams coordinator, said after Wednesday morning's practice he'd like to keep most of UT's schemes the same. "My observation from the outside coming [is we] had an extremely good kickoff team here last year. Really good," he said. "That's a credit to coach [Derek] Dooley and the guys that were coaching here. We want to build on that and…

KNOXVILLE - Tennessee appears close to having just one vacancy left to fill on its football coaching staff, according to the Chattanooga Times Free Press. A source inside the Volunteers' program confirmed to the newspaper on Thursday afternoon that former NFL and North Carolina assistant Charlie Coiner is in line to be UT's special teams coordinator. The school has yet to officially confirm the hire, but Coiner would replace Eric Russell, who left UT last month and was officially named special teams coordinator and assistant head coach at Washington State. Coiner has more than one connection to two of the…

By Patrick Brown / Chattanooga Times Free Press KNOXVILLE — The adage says if a football team has two quarterbacks, it really has none. Tennessee extended that saying to punters in last week's loss to Arkansas, when Matt Darr had one punt returned for a touchdown and Michael Palardy's two punts went 12 and 27 yards. "The rotating deal didn't work out too good," UT special teams coordinator Eric Russell said after Wednesday morning's indoor practice. "You'd like to have one guy settle down and be your guy. Can we do that yet? I don't know. How do these guys…

By Patrick Brown / Times Free Press KNOXVILLE—Tennessee is replacing its field-goal kicker and its punter, and the Volunteers still have to find a punt returner who can at least catch kicks. Thus it’s not surprising that UT special teams coach Eric Russell is a busy man this spring practice. “Last year was embarrassing. It really was,” Russell said after practice last Thursday of the Vols’ woefully inept punt-return game from last fall. “It wasn’t a lack of effort — we just weren’t very good at it. I’ve never seen anything like it. We’ll get there, though.” UT went through…

By Gentry Smith / UT Daily Beacon Derek Dooley’s second year at Tennessee is under way, and his young team has completed five spring practices. With nine practices to go, the first taste of Volunteer football in 2011 will culminate with the annual Orange and White game on April 16. During these spring efforts, Dooley will look to find an answer to a handful of questions about the holes to be filled on both sides of the line, the progression of Tyler Bray as an everyday starter after an outstanding first year and the incoming freshman class. While these questions…