If you ask Tennessee assistant Mike Ekeler about what it takes to play special teams, he will tell you that “the standard is to be the damn best.”
“Special teams as a whole, this is year three,” Ekeler said over the weekend. “Our guys understand the techniques, they understand the teaching progression. So, where we are at is where we should be in year three, but it is an endless pursuit of perfection, and we are not there yet. We will never be there, but I love our group.”
One of the tools that Ekeler and the Vols’ coaching staff are using during training camp is the idea of familiarity, particularly when it comes to former teammates.
Ekeler uses clips of former Vols such as Princeton Fant and Cedric Tillman, two stars from the Vols’ 2022 offense, working on special teams units during training camps as rookies in the NFL.
“If you have any aspiration of going on to the NFL, you might like to become a surgeon on special teams,” Ekeler said. “Our guys understand that, and they see today, for example, we showed clips of (Princeton) Fant on kickoff return for the Cowboys. Yesterday, we were showing P-Fant on kickoff. We show those guys every single week. We showed them (Cedric) Tillman on punt return. Did those guys play that while they were here? No. But did they train, did they learn the skills, and they are transferable not only to their position, but to transition and get them prepared to play on Sunday? And let me tell you, we got guys fighting for damn spots on our teams.”
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Ekeler’s message is evidence to the older players in the room that their former teammates are doing the same thing at the next level. But it’s also an early message to the Vols’ freshman class.
“I’ll go back to three years here,” Ekeler said. “Our best players sit in the front of the meetings on special teams. They may not all play on special teams because they don’t come off the field on offense or defense, but those guys are knee deep in it. When these freshmen come in, who do they look up to? They look up to those guys, our team leaders. Our team leaders are the ones – freaking Bru (McCoy) is in there busting his tail – all these guys are out there. I don’t have to say a word, those guys set the tone. It’s the way it should be. You walk in that meeting room, it’s like a dang cult man. I say one word, and 85 guys in unison will finish it for me. That’s how we train them. They get in there, they feel it. It’s pretty cool. I enjoy it.”
Tennessee will kick off the season on Saturday, September 2, against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville.
