Defensive Line Establishing Presence As Vols Go Full Pads Saturday

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee’s defensive line under the direction of Rodney Garner has grown into one of the nation’s top units, and the group continues to establish its presence as the Volunteers donned full pads for the first time this spring on Saturday inside the Neyland-Thompson Sports Complex.

The Vols went through a 23-period practice indoors to culminate Week 1 with several high school coaches in attendance as part of the annual Coaches Clinic. Garner spoke to media following the practice and discussed how his unit’s depth and versatility will be key this season.

“We are going into year four in the system where guys should be more comfortable in the system,” he said. “I think they are getting a better grasp of it. They understand how the system works and understand conceptually that we ought to be able to move guys around in different positions and do different things. The bottom line is that we have to be able to go out there and execute at a high level.”

First-team All-SEC edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is back as the SEC’s returning leader in sacks (10) and tackles for loss (14.5).

“James is a competitor,” Garner said. “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. Especially, he has to improve in the run game.”

Veteran interior linemen Bryson Eason and Omari Thomas elected to come back for their final seasons and are joined by Stanford transfer Jaxson Moi, who enrolled in January.

“I think the group overall has trended the right way,” Garner said. “Jaxson is a young man that transferred into us from Stanford. We’ve been very pleased with him. I think his teammates, they love him. He’s fit in really well here. He brings exactly what that room needs. He’s a team-first guy, it’s important to him. He loves being at the University of Tennessee. He’s really taken pride in this. He’s tough, athletic, smart. He’s going to be a tremendous addition to the room.

The Vols will utilize Sunday as a meeting day before returning to the practice field on Monday morning. Tennessee will scrimmage next Wednesday and then break for the Easter holiday.

Defensive Line Coach Rodney Garner

 

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