Tennessee Vols DL coach Rodney Garner sends important reminder to the entire defensive line
Tennessee Vols defensive line coach Rodney Garner sent an important reminder to his entire defensive line on Saturday after UT’s first spring practice in full pads.
Garner was asked by a reporter about playing time for young players with the Vols returning numerous veteran defensive linemen in 2024.
The longtime defensive line coach quickly made it clear that no one is guaranteed playing time — regardless of how long they’ve been with the program.
“Who said they were guaranteed [playing time]? There’s no guarantees,” said Garner. “My guys know it’s a bottom-line business. It’s about performance. The thing about what we do, and I think the kids would tell you the same thing, we want to play multiple guys. Our goal is to be able to play 10 to 12 guys a game, so we can be fresh and play the fourth quarter like we play the first quarter. Nobody is guaranteed anything. They have to come out there, and they have to earn it every day. Not just on the field, I’m talking about off the field too, going to class, going to study hall, going to tutorials, making sure they are on time, being pros long before they become pros. We’re not just going to reward mediocrity.
“These guys, if you’re going out there and you’re practicing the best, then you’re going to run out there and get your name called over the loud speaker first. I do think that they know we’re going to play a lot of guys. You earn that in practice by how you go about it and show that, ‘Hey, I can go out there and execute the gameplan at a championship level. My coaches, they can count on me. My teammates can count on me. I’m going to go out there and get my job done.'”
Garner’s message goes for the whole defensive line, including superstar edge rusher James Pearce, a player that’s already receiving some major draft hype ahead of what’s expected to be his final season at Tennessee.
“No one man is bigger than the program,” said Garner when asked about Pearce. “Never ever. Alright so, James had a really good season. But when he looks at that film, there are a lot of areas he needs to improve on. I think he can see it. If you open your eyes and be realistic, for what he wants to achieve and where he wants to go, there are some things that he needs to get better at to make him that commodity, so you don’t have any red flags or any negatives about you. He has been fine.”
“James is a competitor,” added Garner. “He is very smart and talented. He just has to make sure he is channeling all of his energy and everything in the right direction. Then, just making sure that he is going out there every day and taking championship reps, paying attention to details.”
Tennessee has a deep and talented defensive line. It’s a unit that’s worthy of the hype it’s receiving ahead of the 2024 season. But the Vols’ defensive line will be elite only if they put in the work to be elite. They can’t listen to the outside noise or the hype. They can’t buy into the idea that they’re already great. They have to go earn it every day on the practice field.
And Garner, who is one of the best defensive line coaches in the sport, is making sure that Tennessee’s defensive line is putting in the necessary work to be one of the best defensive lines in college football when the lights come on this fall.
