KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee football suited up in full pads for the first time on Tuesday for the sixth practice of preseason camp. Linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary met with local media to discuss the development of his group following the team’s morning session at Haslam Field.
“The first day in pads is always an exciting day,” Jean-Mary said. “I’ve been happy with it. Our guys, when we’ve been in up-tempo, we’ve had guys that have kind of been a little too exuberant, taking guys to the ground, so when we get the opportunity … I thought the guys really stepped up and did a good job there.”
The Volunteer linebacker room was bolstered over the summer with the additions of transfers and freshmen to the fall roster as well as players returning from injury from the spring semester. UT’s ‘strength in numbers’ has fostered competition among the group through the first week of preseason camp.
“At the end of spring, I think we were actually rotating five guys in that whole unit,” Jean-Mary said. “We were really, really thin. Getting some of the guys that transferred in and getting some guys back that were injured has been huge. Now, we can get some quality reps and guys are not trying to save themselves or just trying to survive practice. It increases the competition level, which is the best coach in the world—competition. That’s been a bright spot.”
Jean-Mary also spoke to the importance of communication from the linebackers to their defensive teammates and how his group has handled that responsibility.
“That’s one of the things Coach (Tim) Banks always harps on,” Jean-Mary said. “There should be some sort of communication every play, whether it’s what you see from the offense or what are adjustments on our defense. That’s always the challenge for our guys, especially with the tempo that we see every day. I think they’re getting better. We correct things on tape, and it seems to be carrying over onto the field. That’s something that they’re working on, but it can always get better. If it’s not 100 percent, there’s always something you want to work on, but we feel like we are trending in the right direction as far as the communication on all three levels.”
The full video and transcript from Jean-Mary’s post-practice press conference can be seen below, along with quotes from select defensive players following the sixth practice of preseason camp.
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Jean-Mary Transcript (8.10.21)
On what he has seen from senior Juwan Mitchell during preseason camp…
“The biggest thing with Juwan and with the group that we have, because it’s so young and they haven’t had real collegiate experience, he brings a lot of that. He’s played major college football. He was a starter in a power five conference. He brings a lot of savvy, and he brings a lot of veteran leadership, which is what this group needs. He’s been a welcomed addition for our unit. He’s got savviness as far as seeing formations, getting lined up and knowing what adjustments are needed, because he’s been a part of two pretty complex systems at the university he was at previously. That’s been his number one thing. We just got into pads, so we finally got the physical part of it, and he did a good job there, but we want to get to a scrimmage before we make the permanent evaluation.”
On how different the linebacker room feels now compared to in the spring and what his overall evaluation of the linebackers’ physicality during Tuesday’s practice…
“For the first question, it’s strength in numbers. At the end of spring, I think we were actually rotating five guys in that whole unit. We were really, really thin. Getting some of the guys that transferred in and getting some guys back that were injured has been huge. Now we can get some quality reps and guys are not trying to save themselves or just trying to survive practice. It increases the competition level, which is the best coach in the world—competition. That’s been a bright spot you know. In the spring, everybody was like, ‘you might have to suit up.’ I don’t think the Vol fans want to see that so I’m glad we’ve got the numbers that we have.
“The first day in pads is always an exciting day. I’ve been happy with it. Our guys, when we’ve been in up-tempo, we’ve had guys that have kind of been a little too exuberant, taking guys to the ground, so when we get the opportunity—we had the opportunity today—I thought the guys really stepped up and did a good job there.”
On how many of the linebackers he would like to play consistently…
“There’s always that magic number, because of the position. Obviously, we’re going to have guys that can travel and are going to be in the rotation. Then there are going to be guys that don’t travel and they’re going to be a special teams player. If the group is right and playing the way it should, you could have anywhere from seven to eight that travel with us even on road games. As far as rotation, you always want to be 3D (three deep). Does that mean you’re going to have six guys ready to play, or you’re going to have five guys with one of them being the swing guy? Rotation wise, if everything goes the way it should, you’d love to have six guys that you feel like you can put in at any time and will help you win the game.”
On his thoughts on redshirt freshman William Mohan and freshman Aaron Willis…
“Both are young kids. Obviously, with Mohan, I had a little bit of experience with him from last year. It’s just about learning the system. The challenge with him is always how to play the stack linebacker because he was an edge rusher in high school. He’s been really good. He’s been better than I thought he would be as far as the learning aspect of it and learning to read and react instead of just being an up-field pass rusher. As far as Aaron Willis, he’s been a pleasant surprise. His biggest issue was without playing that COVID year, he really set himself behind just conditioning wise. He had to get his body back into playing shape. I feel like he had a good summer and he’s been a pleasant surprise so far this camp.”
On how different the defense feels overall and how much growth he has seen from redshirt sophomore Kwauze Garland from spring practice to now…
“As far as the defense as a whole, I think we all feel that, as coaches, we feel like we’re coming together as a unit. Obviously, we were able to get new guys, both freshmen and transfers at all three levels. They’re all paying dividends, and kind of like I said about the linebacker room, I feel like we have so much more depth, but depth is one thing and quality depth is another. We feel like we’re really building that with the guys that we’ve brought in. As far as “Pakk” Garland has been, I think he’s actually improved from the spring. He was another young man who came in as a defensive back and had to learn how to play linebacker. You can see the progress that he’s made from the first day of spring to right now. I think he’s going to be a big factor for us on defense this year.”
On what he’s seen from redshirt junior Jeremy Banks and if there are different skill sets he likes to see from his two linebacker spots…
“Jeremy Banks is one of my favorite guys on the team. You’re talking about a young man who wasn’t here and had to overcome a lot just to get here and be able to suit up for us. Obviously, he plays the game hard. He’s 100 miles an hour for every play. The biggest thing for him is we’re just trying to get him to play under control and play within the system, but you never question his effort or his toughness. He’s been a pleasant surprise.
“As far as the different positions—starting with Jeremy Banks—he’s probably a prime example of a guy who could play both spots. We’d like to have them to be interchangeable. Obviously, our weak side linebacker, which we call our ‘WILL’, is a guy that is probably going to play in space a little bit more, where he’ll have to walk out on a receiver and be a little bit more of a blitzer. Our ‘MIKE’ linebacker is probably more of our run defender. He’s going to be in the box, take on offensive linemen and make all of the coverage checks and front checks. You’d like them to be interchangeable, but you know they have specific skills. I’ll say this, based off of the offense now with the spread, starting with our offense that we see every day, those guys really do have to be interchangeable because it’s turned into a space game, and they’re going to have to go out there, walk out over receivers and make plays. So, we’d like them to be interchangeable athletically, but we do have specific skills for them per position.”
On what he has seen from the communication aspect of the linebackers…
“I think it’s been good. That’s one of the things Coach (Tim) Banks always harps on. There should be some sort of communication every play, whether it’s what you see from the offense or what are adjustments on our defense. That’s always the challenge for our guys, especially with the tempo that we see every day. I think they’re getting better. We correct things on tape, and it seems to be carrying over onto the field. That’s something that they’re working on, but it can always get better. If it’s not 100 percent, there’s always something you want to work on, but we feel like we are trending in the right direction as far as the communication on all three levels.”
On if sophomore Morven Joseph has found a home at inside or outside linebacker…
“Morven has been with us at the inside linebacker spot, and we have some specific packages where we’re going to try to use him as a pass rusher because we feel like he does that really well. His big thing is that he’s another guy that was an edge guy in high school. He’s learned to play stack linebacker because it’s a difference and you’re more read and react. When you’re an edge guy, you’re more react and read. Right now, he’s still trying to learn what to do as far as the stack linebacker. He’s been really good through our first six practices. ‘MoJo’ is an interesting player to evaluate because he’s such a good athlete that sometimes he might look like it’s taking a little while to process, but when you look at it, he’s getting there faster than other people because he’s such a good athlete. With guys like that, you want to make sure you put them in positions to have success. You don’t want to keep pounding away and take away from his skill set. I think he’s progressing at the rate that we want him to. Obviously, we want him to be a little faster and be able to play stack, as well as become an edge rusher. Through the first six practices, he’s been good.”
On how the leadership is evolving within the linebackers’ room…
“I feel like if this defense is going to be what we hope it to be and when we plan for it to be, then I think the leadership is going to be developed. I don’t think we have an established leader in the room. The guys that are going to be vocal are going to have to be able to live it every day. I feel like we’re working towards that. Obviously, you’d like it to be a veteran guy, but we’ve put it out that anybody from a freshman to a senior, if that’s what they feel like they can do, we want them to go out and lead. The more guys that are trying to lead, the better it’s going to be. Obviously, the cream will rise to the top, and the guys will follow. It’s a work in progress, but we have some guys that are trying to step up to the plate.”
On how the defense is balancing installing their schemes while facing an up-tempo offense in preseason camp…
“That’s the great part about Coach Banks and his system. We’re still installing the way we would, no matter what the offense would be. We will make the adjustments and we kind of prepped the players that way. Obviously, there’s certain things we wouldn’t do against our offense if it was a game scenario, but we want to get better as a team and as a defense. So, we have a normal install and we kind of adjust the way we need to. We have our walkthrough periods where we can kind of go over what we think we’re going to see on a week in, week out basis in the SEC. Like I said, that’s the great part with Coach Banks and how he’s kind of done the install. We’re going to go about it the way we would going against any type of offense. It’s worked out great.”
On if the players are picking it up on both sides and settling in to the system…
“Yes, and you know there’s a fine line. The tempo does nothing but make us better because you have to be able to react very quickly with the way that they’re getting lined up and then you always have video to coach off of because you have the effort, as far as finishing plays. You also have the video for formations and how you fit plays, so it works out the way it needs to. Like I said, I give Coach Banks all the credit because he’s structured our install so that we can actually go out and go play a game versus a team that’s in 12-personnel, a team that’s in 21-personnel or a team that’s in 10-personnel. Our guys would be comfortable going out and executing the game plan versus any offense.”
Freshman DB Christian Charles Quotes (8.10.21)
On his first fall camp…
“Well, this is my first time experiencing a fall camp or anything like that and it’s a completely different grind. It’s like you’re working a 12-hour shift every single day. So, I’m just trying to get my body used to everything, and mentally focusing for a long time is really the biggest difference honestly.”
On how going through spring ball helped him…
“It definitely did. When you initially learn something, you’re just trying to grasp it and, on the field, things get really fast. I can say that things are starting to slow down a little bit. I’m starting to get a better grasp of the defense and just conceptually how we do it.”
On when he realized defensive back was the best position for him…
“I not only played just quarterback in high school. I played defense my whole life, but coming to Tennessee and playing DB, it just felt right. I’m athletic, so it just felt right. It’s definitely been a transition, for sure (playing defense full time). Playing quarterback, I don’t get hit a ton, so now I’m coming to tackle 230-pound backs that can move just like me. It’s definitely a lot different.”
On how much he’s leaned on veteran DB Theo Jackson…
“Oh, a ton. Theo’s a vet. We were just talking about that today actually, just how much knowledge he has, how much experience he really has and how us as a group are really lucky to have him.”
Freshman DB De’Shawn Rucker Quotes (8.10.21)
On how he thinks he’s played so far in camp…
“With me it’s just all about effort (and) playing fast. I know I’m a freshman and I can make a lot of mistakes, but as long as I play fast the coaches will understand and they’ll be able to help me better.”
On being one of the fastest guys on the team during the summer and incorporating speed into his game…
“Just a little bragging rights. I like to play off my speed. That’s what helped me in the long run with a lot of deep balls, I’m good to play those. That just shows the competition we had during the summer. Everybody was pushing hard and playing fast.”
On focusing on playing corner right now…
“I’m taking my time as a freshman. I’m learning corner right now, just trying to do a great job watching behind Warren (Burrell) and Alontae (Taylor), just watching those guys and how they play stuff. Just trying to do the best I can every day.”
On going against Coach Heupel’s high-tempo offense every day…
“It’s a big adjustment from high school. It’s a lot slower in high school, but the speed, I like it though. The tempo, I look at the caller, he’ll let me know (the play) and they’re ready to snap the ball, so I get up there and go fast.”
Sophomore DB Doneiko Slaughter Quotes (8.10.21)
On moving into his second collegiate season…
“I feel confident. (I gained) a lot of experience from the South Carolina game. Just knowing how fast the game really is and how to practice.”
On having a regular offseason…
“It helps a lot, connecting with other players. It was difficult to do that last season. So, I really got to build a relationship with a lot of players and getting into the playbook, for real.”
On senior DB Theo Jackson…
“I want to see him thrive to the fullest. He has a lot of experience and I think he is (really) built for the next level.”
On staying at Tennessee…
“It’s close to home. I felt like these new coaches bring a new start for me. I had a good connection (with Coach Willie Martinez) when he recruited me and was really funny. He brought it up when he first came here, too.”
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