KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s defensive line is continuing to develop as preseason camp progresses, with a pair of transfers emerging as consistent contributors and a talented group embracing the challenge of taking on greater responsibility.
Defensive line coach Rodney Garner has been encouraged by the production of Jordan Norman and Xavier Gilliam through the early portion of preseason camp. Gilliam has impressed with his intelligence, natural leverage and willingness to learn, while Garner has challenged both transfers to become more vocal leaders within the room.
“Those two young men have got to be able to help us. They’ve shown flashes where they can help, and they can be very effective in this league. I think he’s (Gilliam) a great young man. He’s smart. You can tell with his body build and all that, he has natural leverage. I think he wants to be coached. I think he wants to be good.”
Garner also praised the overall talent of the group, noting that Tyree Weathersby has put together a consistent camp while other players have continued to show flashes of their ability.
The development is extending to the LEO position, where Andrew Jackson has been encouraged by the progress of Kedrick Golson, Christian Gass and Hezekiah Harris.
“So, it’s a great rep. We’re trying to replicate that great rep more often than not. Age isn’t an excuse. Experience isn’t an excuse. You’ve got to be the same guy, you got to raise the bar every day. We’ve got to move that needle. Not like the one step back, one step forward thing. So, every rep that we’re getting out there at LEO has been gold for Kedric Golston II, Christian Gass, Hezekiah Harris.”
With a talented group continuing to gain experience, Garner believes the pieces are in place for the defensive line to take another step as camp continues. The focus now is on building consistency, developing leadership and turning the flashes the coaches have seen into sustained production. “I think they are a very talented group,” Garner said. “The time is now.”
Defensive Line Coach Rodney Garner
On the defensive line’s sense of urgency as scrimmages and the season approach…
“Obviously, even just coming out of yesterday, (we’ve) been very inconsistent. You have a good day, you have a bad day. Obviously, you’re not moving the needle when you’re going up and down. Can’t have those roller coaster moments, and like I told them this morning in our meeting, we have to be climbing that mountain every day. We can’t take steps backwards. And nobody’s got time to hear it, nobody wants to hear it, about being young, who all you lost, all that. That’s irrelevant. We have to be moving that needle every single day that we go out there on that field.”
On Mariyon Dye’s development…
“He’s like all of them. He’s had some good days, had some bad days. We just have to keep stacking good on good. I asked them, do they want to be ‘a’ guy? Or do you want to be ‘the’ guy? Those are two different people. ‘A’ guy gets treated this way, ‘the’ guy gets treated that way. Right now, we have to have guys that are separating themselves, that are doing it all the time. They’ve got to get comfortable being uncomfortable. And if they can’t push themselves, they’ve got to allow somebody else to push them.”
On the growth of Jordan Norman and Xavier Gilliam through this point in the offseason…
“This has nothing to do with me. If you had to assess us at this point in fall camp, they have probably been our two most productive guys out there consistently. Those two young men have got to be able to help us. They’ve shown flashes where they can help and they can be very effective in this league, and we have to continue working on the little things to take our game to the next level, because we need for those guys to be highly productive. And they’ve shown that they’ve got a skill set, now we have to refine all the little things to go chase greatness.”
On what specifically Xavier Gilliam excels at…
“I think it’s all-encompassing. I think he’s a great young man. He’s smart. You can tell with his body build and all that, he has natural leverage. I think he wants to be coached. I think he wants to be good. Him being a transfer, both of those young men (Gilliam and Norman) being transfers, they’re just getting here. They have to become more vocal and become (better) leaders. That’s the one thing that I would say, the room right now, just developing consistent leaders. Guys that are willing to call each other out, guys that are willing to hold each other accountable.”
On Daevin Hobbs’ progress as he returns from injury…
“Pushing him like we always push him. He can’t have those up and down days. We can’t be in our feelings. Hobbs is a very talented young man. But obviously, like I told him, he’s got to be able to put that body of work together. It’s been very unfortunate, the injuries that he’s had to fight, missing offseasons and development, all that stuff. But time waits for no one. We’ve got to keep coming, and he has to accelerate that on and off the field and embrace it. So, when I’m losing my mind, it’s not personal, it’s about the play that’s taking place out there on the field. He’s got to be just as upset about it, when he watches the film, as I am, or any of them have to be. That’s the thing. They need to be their own biggest critic. And when we when we can get to that point, now we’re going to have a chance.”
On the next step Tyree Weatherby has to take…
“Tyree has had a, I would say, pretty good camp, but still just consistency. Taking that next step as a leader. We do see improvement in his game. Obviously, we’re expecting much more out of him than what he’s been expected in the past, being just a truly rotational type guy, and you know, we need for him, Nathan Robinson and (Xavier Gilliam) to take on those leadership roles. It’s the same thing with Jordan Norman. I know that might be outside of his personality, but his play is showing the ability to get guys’ attention. So now, he’s got to become more confident, be willing to speak up and take on more of a role too as being a leader and being a pace-setter for us.”
On what is leading to the lack of consistency in preseason camp…
“It’s just, we have to be tough enough. We have to keep grinding. We have to keep working. When you lose that many guys, and you had older guys in the room, we need guys to be more, I guess, assertive. It can’t be 100 percent coach led. I know I haven’t been around many good teams at the line of scrimmage that were coach-led. We’re pushing them to be more player led, OK? And those guys have to take ownership, alright? That’s on me as a coach. We have to demand them. I have to coach better, and they have to do better. That’s all of us. There’s nobody that’s immune from it. We all can be better, and that’s what we must do every day.”
On who has impressed him the most this fall camp…
“From my group? I just answered that question earlier. I told you it was (Xavier Gilliam) and Norman (Jordan Norman) have probably been the most productive guys. I mean, that doesn’t change. I think (Tyree Weathersby) has had a pretty consistent camp. There are guys that have flashed. There are guys that have had good days. There are guys that have had bad days. We just have to continue to stack good on good and continue to grow. I mean, we can’t take two steps forward and then take a step backwards. We aren’t really going anywhere. I mean, we are just running in place, so that’s the challenge for us. I like my group, so I don’t want to come across like that. I think they are a very talented group, but we don’t have time for them to grow up. The time is now. It is now. It is now. September 5th will be here before they know it. They don’t even look at it like that. It will be here before they know it, and I can’t find out on September 5th that the stage is too big, alright? We have to find that out every day. If I’m intimidating to them, what do you think 102,000 is going to be? So just putting them in the understanding of the pressure and what’s expected. This is what we all signed up for. I mean, me as a coach too. We all signed up for this, so we need to understand the expectations and what’s required, and we need to get it done.”
On if he expects to fight with inconsistencies with a young defensive line…
“Well, you expected that. You lose five guys that are in (NFL) camps somewhere. I’m not shocked, OK? But you know, we just have to accelerate it. I feel partially to blame too. Obviously, missing all that time in the spring. Even though it was health-related, still that was time for them to grow, matriculate and do things like that. I feel more energized though, about coming out there now. I feel more like I did five or 10 years ago. Really wanting to get after them, get them going and all that. It may be coming across a lot more aggressive, because you really don’t realize how important things are until things are almost taken away from you. I felt like what I went through has definitely made me appreciate. I have always appreciated being at Tennessee, but this made me appreciate it more. This made me appreciate this opportunity. This made me appreciate this game, and I feel like I’ve got much more that I can give to this game. I want these kids to feel the same way, and that’s what we are trying to get across every day.”
LEO’s Coach Andrew Jackson
On his relationship with Coach Jim Knowles and how it’s grown since being here…
“Year two in the system, definitely grown that way as a coach, and then just through all the experiences. Jim’s been coaching 38 years and I’m 38 years old so it’s like my dad out there with me. Between him, Coach G (Rodney Garner) and Dex (Anthony Poindexter), the learning experience and learning curve, I feel like some of the freshmen sometimes with these high-level football conversations that go on.”
On his working relationship with Coach Rodney Garner…
“It’s been fine. I mean, unfortunately with him being out, I was able to build some rapport with the guys and get a chance to know them, so were able to hit the ground running that way, but he’s earned the respect in this game. Again, been coaching longer than I’ve been alive. So, it’s been great, like I’m learning from him. He’s great with the relationship part about him not being the only person in the room speaking, so he’s definitely tried to empower me in front of the guys, and it’s been good give and take back and forth.”
On what he’s learned from Coach Garner’s coaching style and how they utilize their different styles while coaching…
“Sometimes he says AJ, I need more like you, sometimes AJ I need you to be more like me, so that’s been good, and then we can hit guys in different ways. Some guys need a talking to, some guys need to be yelled at, some guys need one guy to pick them up, so it’s been good cop, bad cop, but again the dynamic has been great. G’s easy to work with. He comes off super aggressive, but sometimes he’s got that teddy bear in him and he’s still like grand pops.”
On the LEOs development in generating a pass rush…
“Just like G (Rodney Garner) said, the inconsistency. So, it’s a great rep. We’re trying to replicate that great rep more often than not. Age isn’t an excuse. Experience isn’t an excuse. You’ve got to be the same guy, you got to raise the bar every day. We’ve got to move that needle. Not like the one step back, one step forward thing. So, every rep that we’re getting out there at LEO has been gold for Kedric Golston II, Christian Gass, Hezekiah Harris.”
On players being their own biggest critic…
“Absolutely, I mean you don’t want this to be coaching the same little details all the time, so you have to expose them to the details they’re getting wrong. We’re very vocal in our room of having guys grade and critique their own performance, so putting the onus back on them. We tell guys, we want those guys to meet us halfway we’re not just always talking at them. It’s give and take. And really stressing that, ‘hey, you said your goal is X’, well then calling them out on their goals. You say your goal is this right, so what are you working towards every day?”
On Kedric Golston II’s growth since the spring…
“He’s a son of a pro. He’s known G (Rodney Garner) since he was a little kid. The father and son relationship with his dad. And he knows the game. Now it’s just getting stronger in the weight room, those kind of things. Apply things on the field full speed. He’s got a tremendous skill set, but now it’s just growing up every day.”
On Kedrick Golston II’s football IQ compared to other freshman…
“Well again, his dad is a pro, so he gets the business side, the details, the structure of this game. He’s also played multiple positions in high school. He’s played linebacker, he’s played on the edge, he’s played in competitive high school programs. So, his wealth of football knowledge is there, now it’s just getting it to come out full speed all the time.”
On Tyree Weathersby taking the next step…
“Well, he’s so aggressive. He’s got jumper cables in his hands. Now it’s just keeping him healthy and keeping his mind laser focused. The recovery pieces for him are just as big as the on the field piece. And then getting him to be infectious to the guys around him and setting the standard every day. He’s got to be super consistent right, because he’s got guys looking at him. So, that added pressure with him and then as bad as he wants to play, just make sure that’s spread out around the guys around him in the room, as well, being an older guy and knowing what playing and running out the T means.”
On the inter-changeability of the guys at LEO and defensive end…
“I think for us as a coaching staff is using the same language and verbiage for all our guys. So, ‘this is a that, this is a that’, and then, again, we’ve got a wealth of talent and we’ll put the best level on the field.”
