Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner met with the local media on Wednesday morning after the Vols put full pads on for the first time during fall camp on Wednesday morning.
The Vols’ defensive line is perhaps the most promising position unit on their 2024 roster. Garner discussed the need for growth, what he’s seen from a handful of young defensive linemen so far in camp and much more. Here’s everything Garner said on Wednesday.
More From RTI: Tennessee Football Practice Notes And Observations From Wednesday
On Tennessee’s improved depth on the defensive line over the last four years
“Obviously I’m proud of the guys I’ve got in the room. Probably the guys that started out with us when we started this journey four years ago. It is rewarding. Hopefully these guys see improvement in their game and improvement in the D-line play at the same time. Just knowing that we still have so much room for improvement, but it is definitely good having great (players) that can actually set the tone and set the culture, that can sort of start to police itself, you know, somewhat with the young guys or are coming in and say, hey, you know, this is the way we do things, this is how we’re trying to build this thing.
“And we’re trying to build it on a solid foundation. We want to be on solid foundation that can last and that’s what we want do. So we could be tested through the storms and obviously there’s a lot of storms. And at times, still to this point we haven’t risen up and played to the level that we need to play at when we get in those storms. When we’re dealing with the Alabamas, the Georgias and Floridas, all that on a consistent basis. That’s truly where you’re going to be judged at at the end of the day.”
On the characteristics of this Tennessee defensive line compared to past years
“Well, I think they’re really working at moving the needle in the right direction with less resistance. Everybody, they always want to say, well, you coach hard, you’re hard on this and that. Well this is a hard game. Life is hard. So what you’re trying to do, you’re trying to prepare them for those difficult times. And even though I know they said, well, you’re a dinosaur, you played in the dinosaur age, you know, when I played, Coach Dye’s philosophy, he wanted practice to be his hardest thing he did. He wanted the game to be easy. And (it’s) that same kind of philosophy that I want to relate to these guys. I want them to really work their butt off, prepare to be champions, and then on Saturday be able to go out there and just reap the rewards of your labor. So that’s, what we’re trying to stress to them. That’s what we’re working towards and, like I said, we still got so much room to improve.”
On Tyree Weathersby getting back from injury and the progress he has made in camp
“Weathersby, obviously (he) is a very talented young man. I think right now — we talked about it in the personal meeting the other day — I definitely think skill wise, I think he’s getting closer to what he was before he got that injury and had everybody so excited. But right now he’s probably not playing as fast as he was just because his head’s swimming, learning all the different calls and then dealing with me now as Coach G on the field versus him being in the rehab room where you’re checking on him and all that.
It’s just a different pressure, resistance, so all that. So I think right now he’s just learning and he’s building his way through. But he does splash and he does show signs that he’s going to be a really good football player.”
On the outside hype being build around this Tennessee defensive line
“I’m not (praising them). So we just try to block out all the outside noise. One thing about it, when you look at that film, when you study it and you come in there every day and you really look at it and you got to be your own biggest critic. And it’s no different from me as a coach. Every day I’m going out there in the field, I’m working to be a better coach today than I was yesterday. Same thing that they’re working for as players. And we all have a lot of room that we need to improve in and in a lot of areas. If they’re going bring this kind of stuff on you, then you got to prepare for it. And that’s the thing I told them, man, this is not going to be easy now. To whom much is given, much as required. So we’ve got to prepare ourselves to go out there and be able to play at a championship level. And that is the challenge every single day.”
On Omari Thomas being a leader on Tennessee’s defensive line
“Big O is an incredible young man. He’s a great leader. He stands for all the things that being a VFL and he’s a great man. And he does exemplify what we are trying to be here and what they’re trying to get Tennessee back to the status that Tennessee is used to being. And I think he’s done an outstanding job of showing those leadership skills. Obviously he’s got to continue to elevate his game because the better player you are, the better leader you are. So we need for him to up his game and then all those things will even have much more meaning when he says it.”
On having a versatile defensive line group and how much easier that makes his job
“Obviously as a coach you’re trying to help your players fill their tool box up with all the different tools. They may use this tool for this, you use that tool for that. But they got to have the different tools in the toolbox and you try to look at guys’ strengths. And you try to coach them up to hey, play this way according to this skillset, this is something that’s really your skillset versus what he’s doing over here. That’s his skillset. So it may be a little bit different. Elijah Simmons is going to be a different type of player than Bryce Eason just because of skillset. So you’re just trying to help them sharpen their tools and then they’ll be able to go in that box and pull out what they need at that particular time based off of what they’re against getting schematically, from who they’re playing against and all that, so they can be successful.”
On how Daevin Hobbs is different now compared to a year ago
“I think Hobbs is continuing to grow. Obviously, I think his play strength has improved. Obviously he’s a big, long, athletic kid that’s shown toughness. For him to be able to come in and play in this league as much as he did last year, inside. I was impressed by him doing that because obviously I thought he was going to be more of a defensive end last year, but because of injuries and all that— he didn’t buckle at all. He went in and played inside and did a really decent job for us. And I just continue to see his play elevate and he’s gonna be a really good player down the road going for us.’
On if James Pearce is a good self critic
“I think James has grown, obviously, just searching for that consistency from him and I talk to him, constantly about being the CEO of his brand and being consistent. He just can’t ride that roller coaster, up-and-down. He’s very, very, very, very talented. He’s very smart. He can be elite, but now he has to make sure he’s that every day. He can’t pick and choose when he’s gonna be a pro. I mean, he’s gotta be a pro every day.”
On what they saw from Jaxson Moi on tape, how he’s matched up with that since arriving on campus
“Obviously, I was really excited about Jackson when he went in the portal and us recruiting him and all that. Obviously I had one plan for him. He came in and he probably exceeded what I had in mind so he sort of deviated my plan. But I think Jackson’s gonna be a really good player for us and obviously he’s a tremendous leader. He’s gonna command respect in that locker room from everybody. His teammates respect him. They like him, all of them. So I couldn’t be more excited to have him in my room than any other guys.”
On what he’s learned about his group during the first six practices
“We need a lot more work. That we’ve got to really improve. That we’ve got to get in much better shape. In football playing shape. We’ve got to, like I told them today, after we finish running obviously we’re in great shape. We’ll be more mentally tough. We’ll be more physically tough and that’s gotta be our challenge. We gotta put ourselves in a position where we’re not beating ourselves. Alright, we’ve gotta go out there, there to challenge our opponents to beat us and we can’t beat ourselves, whether it be mentally or physically. And that’s gotta start with in the classroom, obviously our football IQ improving there, but also getting ourselves in the best physical shape that we can possibly be in that we can go out there and play four quarters of championship football and then we can play the four quarter just like we started the first quarter and be able to finish in the games that really really count.”
On rotating players being a point of emphasis this fall
“Well, obviously my whole career has been about rotating so I played 10 to 12 guys everywhere I’ve ever been. So if you look at my history, my thing is just always trying to develop enough guys that we can play at that championship level. But that’s something, that’s my philosophy. That’s always been my philosophy, hopefully, that we’re gonna just improve our play so I do think right now we probably have more guys than what we’ve had here in the past to be able to do that. So I’m excited about that. I hope that we can stay healthy and I hope that we can continue to improve on the little things because that’s what it’s gonna come down to. It’s just the little things. If we’re gonna chase greatness we gotta improve in the little areas. Those things that we think are not that important, but they are very important. When you play against high level competition.”
On how different Josh Josephs is this year
“Josh is closer now to what he was when he first got here where last year he sort of took a dip. Sort of I guess maybe went into that sophomore low where now he’s coming back more and energized, more focused, more attention to detail. I think he’s put on some really good weight. I think he’s improved his play strength. I think he’s improved his power and his explosiveness, so I’m excited about this Josh Josephs that’s here right now. I really am.”
On the different type of bodies that Tennessee has at strongside defensive end
“The strong side defense end, we’ve got some good guys there. You got (Dominic) Bailey and (Tyre) West who do a really good job of complementing each other that. They are very different somewhat, but they do a very good job of complimenting each other. And (Jayson) Jenkins had had a really good camp. Going forward and then you got (Tyree) Weathersby right there with them. So I’m excited about the guys. It’s just now continuing to move the needle in the right direction.”
