KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – As the Volunteers enter their second week of spring ball, student-athletes on the defensive line have made strides in their on-field progression and their leadership. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner, as well as redshirt-junior defensive lineman Elijah Simmons and junior defensive lineman/linebacker Tyler Baron talked with the media Monday afternoon following Tennessee’s fourth spring practice.
Defensive Line Coach Rodney Garner
March 28, 2022
On Elijah Simmons being in better shape and what that means for him…
“I think Elijah definitely has done a good job losing some weight that he had gained. I think he’s probably down 20 pounds, 25 pounds. Now we have to get his motor to mirror the weight loss. The motor is still running at that same weight. So, that’s the next thing is to get him to move like he’s lighter than what he was and what he was doing before. It is good to see that he did have the discipline to do what they’ve asked him to do in the training room, weight room, conditioning, nutritionist, and all that. Now we just have to keep moving the needle in the right direction.”
On how familiarity with returning players has helped so far…
“All of us have to reassess everything we’re doing. Our expectations, I think maybe we exceeded some expectations last year, but it’s still not the expectations we want, that we came to the University of Tennessee for. We’ve got to raise the bar and we’ve got to continue to raise the bar. I don’t think any of those young men, when they signed to come Tennessee, signed to come and be a part of a 7-6 program. Right? They said they wanted to come and compete for championships, SEC championships, national championships. I know that’s what I want. I know that’s what Tennessee wants. I know that’s what the expectation is. So, we’ve got to continue to reassess everything we’re doing and make sure we are continuing to move the needle in the right direction.”
On if he’s seen anything different from Tyler Baron this spring…
“I wouldn’t single out just Tyler. I think there were times when all of us weren’t consistent enough to be on the field, including him but not just him. I have been pleased with Tyler thus far this spring. He’s been more in line with what we want to do. He’s practicing harder. He’s been competing. I think he’s trying; he’s straining, just like all the guys. We just have to continue to raise our standards and we have to expect more from each other. They have to expect more from me and I’ve got to expect more from them.”
On what he’s seen from Omari Thomas and future expectations for him …
“I think Big O is a tremendous leader. It’s like I told him in the meeting room the other day, he’s been crowned one of the faces of the program, I guess. If you’re going to be that – to whom much is given, much is required. So, he has to make sure that everything he does meets those types of expectation. Every play that he makes, it’s going to be scrutinized. So, he’s got to make sure he’s on top of his game and he’s improving his game to where he can help himself become more of an elite level, championship level, defensive lineman in this league.”
On what he has seen from the younger defensive linemen…
“I’m glad that they came in January. It gives them an opportunity to get acclimated to what college football is all about, the expectations. I think both young men (Jordan Phillips and Tyre West) have talent, have ability. I think they have the want-to. Now, they just have to learn how to do it and how to do it the Tennessee way, and the standards that we expect, and the effort that it’s going to take to go out and compete and play at a championship level. I’ve been pleased with both young men. I think they’re smart. I think they’re grasping the system. So, obviously, them coming in and when we get to fall camp, they’ll be more seasoned veterans where they can hopefully have an opportunity to have some type of an impact on our team.”
On expectations and if anyone is meeting them…
“You know I want to make sure I am clear on this; all the guys are working hard. We have to grow, and we have to get better and that is what is expected. Time waits for no one. So, we have to go out there every day and our goal is that when we hit that field, we want to be better today than we were yesterday. We then need to go look at the film to see if we met that standard that day, or did we not. I do know this; we are too talented not to get better every day because our opponents are getting better. We are not going to stay the same. So, we have to get better, and we have to strain and get comfortable being uncomfortable so we can be comfortable later. And that is the standard, that is the expectation. I am not saying that guys are not working at it, but this is going to be the ongoing case and I don’t think there will ever be satisfaction.”
On continuing to get student-athletes to play to the standard …
“I think it is definitely going to be harder when you had so far to come from. So, now as you’ve gotten closer … to move those inches, it becomes more difficult. The elite teams, that’s what the elite teams are doing. They’re taking care of the little things. So, every little minute detail does matter. It matters in crucial situations. It matters in tough situations when you lose the game in the fourth quarter and you don’t finish. Just finding a way to strain and finding a way to win. That’s what we’re trying to coach, that mentality, that mindset that we have to find a way to finish and come out on top.”
On how to coach that mindset…
“It is just a competitive thing. We got to keep putting them in competitive situations. We’ve got to keep grinding and we’ve got to keep raising the bar. Let them know that we’re not going to accept mediocrity. I mean, that’s not acceptable, you know. Being average is not what any of us signed up for. I didn’t sign up for it, they didn’t sign up for it. So, just understanding what is goal. We can’t just give it lip service. We have to be about getting it and it is going to hurt. To become great, they’re going to have to grind and they’re going to have to get in there and go through the fire. Go through adversity and find a way to fight through it when they want to quit and when they want to give give up. We got to find a way to go pull through it and their teammates have got to help you pull through it and getting it done together.”
On losing Matthew Butler’s leadership…
“We do miss Matt. Matt was a great leader and he’s very durable. He worked hard and was always putting the next man up. Obviously, I think Omari has great leadership skills. We need him to take that next step, but he has great verbal skills and leadership skills. He’s natural at that, but now I need for his play to match that. That’s really when you’re a leader, when your play matches it and shows. I think he has a chance to be a good leader. I have seen development out of BY (Byron Young). From where he has come since last year this time. The growth that he’s made, it’s been tremendous, but he still has a long way to go because he was so far off. Just watching him grow as a player and gaining confidence. I don’t think he would ever be a verbal leader, but he can affect the room just by his play and just continuing to master his craft. So, that’s the way that he’s got to help us. Tyler is a young man that should be a good leader for us. Verbally and with his play. So just understanding that, hey, you just can’t talk about it and just be a leader when the lights are on. You have to be a leader when nobody’s looking and doing those little extra things that it takes to be a champion.”
On what he likes from LaTrell Bumphus and what he brings…
“I’m going into year 33 right now and LaTrell Bumphus is probably one of the finest human beings I’ve had the opportunity to coach. A tremendous young man. I think he’s a special person. He’s not so much a verbal leader at all. I don’t think he really likes that role. I know this year (there has been a) focus on putting him out front and making him be a leader, getting him outside of his comfort zone. It’s been good for him because he’s just a guy who does everything right. You don’t have to worry about it. He’s not going to skip reps, he’s not going to do this. He’s raised right, he’s going to do it right. But now, putting him out front, making him be a leader and challenge others to hold them accountable; it’s been good for him to do that.”
RS-Junior DL Elijah Simmons
On what he thinks he still needs to work on…
“A few minor things like hands and alignment. I think I’ve come a long way so far. I’ve been working in the offseason so much and been doing pretty good.”
On what motivates him to be better…
“I’m thinking about where I want to be in the future. The drive I have, the things I want to accomplish, and where I want to be. That’s my main motivation. And helping my family out, as well.”
On what it’s like to play for Coach Rodney Garner…
“It’s pretty hard, he coaches us hard, but we also have fun. We do a lot of things together as a whole d-line group, and we have a great connection. We’ve come a long way since we first started; having a new coach, everybody had to adjust to him and we all like him.”
Junior DL/LB Tyler Baron
On what being a leader in play and with words entails…
“It entails being somebody that the younger guys, like Jordan Phillips and Tyre West, can look at. Just giving them a model of what it looks like and what they should be doing, as well as what they should not be (doing).”
On becoming an upperclassman and taking the next step…
“Yeah, definitely. It is a reminder in the back of your head that you do not have as much time as you think you do. Just putting in extra work and making sure that I am not missing any opportunities to further myself.”
On what it’s like to play for Coach Rodney Garner…
“It is something I love. I love playing under Coach G. Everybody can say what they want to say but at the end of the day, he is the best at what he does. He cares about us deeply so there is not much more that I could ask for from coach.”
On the bowl loss being a motivating factor this offseason…
“As much motivation as you can get from a situation, to be honest. It is definitely in the back of our minds this spring.”
On what areas he has improved at this offseason…
“Personally, I think that I am getting better at rushing the quarterback. Just effecting and getting the quarterback off his spot. As a unit, you can see we are becoming more of a close-knit unit. And we are just allowing each other to take care of our own responsibilities and not trying to overcompensate for anybody.”
-UT Athletics
