KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Tennessee will start preseason practice today without some members of its highly touted freshman class.
Volunteers coach Butch Jones said Monday wide receiver Preston Williams and offensive lineman Zach Stewart wouldn't be available. Jones said Williams was awaiting word from the NCAA on his eligibility and Stewart was delaying his enrollment. Stewart's mother died in May.
"We will welcome him when he feels he's ready to come back," Jones said. "And I just ask that you keep him and his family in all of your thoughts and your prayers, as they go through something that's very hard and very challenging in their personal lives."
Tennessee's freshman class already had lost two members in the offseason when receiver Jocquez Bruce and tight end Kyle Oliver left the program.
Williams, a five-star prospect by 247Sports and Scout, was one of the most heralded players in a recruiting class ranked in the top five by multiple services. Jones said Williams' NCAA situation is an "ongoing process," and the coach had no time frame on his potential return.
Williams' absence hampers the depth of a receiving corps that also is missing senior Von Pearson, who was suspended indefinitely in April after being named a suspect in a rape investigation in which no charges have been filed.
"That's one of the areas we're concerned with," Jones said.
Jones said freshman Jauan Jennings, who worked out at quarterback during spring practice, will start out at receiver while continuing to get repetitions at quarterback. Cornerback Malik Foreman also could switch to receiver, though he remains on defense for now.
Tennessee returns the nucleus of a team that went 7-6. The Vols ended a string of four straight losing seasons while playing 23 true freshmen, the most of any Football Bowl Subdivision program.