KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Tennessee hit the field in full pads for the first time on Wednesday, marking Practice No. 6 of its preseason training camp. Defensive line coach Rodney Garner addressed the media after the morning session, emphasizing the importance of maintaining a strong work ethic.

“When I played coach’s philosophy was he wanted practice to be the hardest thing we’d be at (and) he wanted the game to be easy,” Garner said. “That’s the same kind of philosophy that I want to relate to these guys.”

The Vols boast a seasoned defensive line this season, a group that played a key role in Tennessee’s defensive success last year. The unit ranked ninth nationally and second in the SEC with 41 sacks and led the league, finishing sixth in the nation, with 101 tackles for loss.

“Obviously, I’m proud of the guys I’ve got in the room,” Garner said. “Proud of 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.”

Full comments from Garner and select quotes from defensive linemen Jaxson Moi, Caleb Herring and Tyree Weathersby can be viewed below.

Tennessee Football Press Conference | Aug. 7, 2024

Defensive Line Coach Rodney Garner

On the depth of the defensive line from this year compared to four years ago…
“Obviously, I’m proud of the guys I’ve got in the room. Proud of 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. It is definitely good having a great nucleus that can actually set the tone, set the culture, that can start to police itself with the young guys that are coming in saying, ‘hey, this is the way we do things, this is how we’re trying to build this thing.’ We’re trying to build it on a solid foundation. We’re not trying to build it on sand. We want to build it on a solid foundation that can last and that’s what we wanted to do so that it can be tested through the storms. 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 Alabama’s, the Georgia’s, the Florida’s, all that on a consistent basis, that’s truly where you’re going to be judged at at the end of the day.”

On how this defensive line room compares to other rooms he has had…
“I think they’re really working at moving the needle in the right direction with less resistance. Everybody always wants to say, ‘you coach them hard,’ or ‘you’re hard on them,’ well this is a hard game. Life is hard. So, what you’re trying to do is prepare them for those difficult times. You know they try to say, ‘well you’re a dinosaur, you played in a dinosaur age,’ but when I played coach’s philosophy was he wanted practice to be the hardest thing we’d be at (and) he wanted the game to be easy. That’s the same kind of philosophy that I want to relate to these guys. I want them to really work their butts off. Prepare to be champions and then on Saturday be able to go out there and reap the rewards of their labor. 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 for improvement.”

On the younger players like Tyree Weathersby’s improvement…
“Weathersby is a talented young man. I think right now, skill wise, he’s inching closer to what he was before he got that injury and had everyone so excited. Right now, he’s probably not playing as fast as he was just because his head’s swimming and learning all the different calls and then dealing with me now as Coach G on the field, versus him being in the rehab room when you’re checking on him. Just a different pressure, resistance and all that. So, I think right now he’s learning. He’s feeling his way through, but he does flash, and he does show signs that he’s going to be a really good football player.”

On the praise surrounding this defensive line…
“Who’s praising them? I’m not. So, we just try to block out all the outside noise. You know, the 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’ve got to be your own biggest critic – and it’s no different from me as a coach – every day that I’m going out there on that field (and) I’m working to be a better coach today than I was yesterday. Same thing that they’re working for as players. And, you know, we all have a lot of room that we need to improve in a lot of areas. If they’re going to heap this kind of stuff on you, then you’ve got to prepare for it, and that’s the thing like I told them, man, this is not going to be easy. To whom much is given, much is 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 the leadership of Omari Thomas…
“Big O is an incredible young man. He’s a great leader. He stands for all the things that a VFL is, and he’s a great young man. He does exemplify what we’re trying to be here and trying to get Tennessee back to the status that Tennessee is used to being. I think he’s done an outstanding job of showing those leadership skills. Now, obviously, he’s got to continue to elevate his game because, obviously, 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 them.”

On how the versatility and different abilities of the defensive line makes it easier on a coach…
“Well you know 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 and that tool for that, but they got to have the different tools in their tool box. Obviously, you try to look at guys’ strengths and you try to coach them up to 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 different. Elijah Simmons is going to be a different type of player than Bryson Eason just because of skillset. 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 what they’re getting schematically from who they’re playing against and all that, so they can be successful.”

On what he has seen from Daevin Hobbs now that he has had a full offseason…
“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 I thought that he was going to be more of a defensive end last year but because of injuries and all that he didn’t buck it at all. He went in and played the inside and did a decent job for us. I just continue to see his play elevate, and he’s going to be a really good player down the road for us.”

On how good a self-critic James Pearce Jr. has been since last season…
“I think James has grown. Just searching for that consistency from him. 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 talented, and 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 going to be a pro. I mean he’s got to be a pro every day.”

On what he saw from Jaxson Moi in the portal and what he has brought to the room…
“Obviously, I was really excited about Jaxson when he went in the portal and us recruiting him and all that. I had one plan for him. He came in and he’s probably exceeded what I had in mind, so he’s sort of deviated my plan. I think Jaxson is going to be a really good player for us, and obviously he’s going to be a tremendous leader. He’s going to be able to command respect in that locker room from everybody. His teammates respect him. They like him, all of them do, so I couldn’t be more excited to have him in my room than any other guys.”

On what this group has taught him for the past six days in camp…
“That we need a lot more work. That we’ve got to really improve. That we’ve got to get in much better shape, football playing shape. Like I told them today after we finished running, if we are in great shape, we will be more mentally tough, we will be more physically tough. That’s got to be our challenge. We got to put ourselves in a position where we’re not beating ourselves. We’ve got to go out there and be able to challenge our opponents to beat us, and we can’t beat ourselves, whether it be mentally or physically. That’s got to start 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. That we can play the fourth quarter just like we started the first quarter and be able to finish in the games that really count.”

On how much he has focused on the ability to rotate guys in games…
“Well obviously my whole career has been about rotating, so I’ve played 10 to 12 guys everywhere I have ever been. If you look at my history of things, I’m always trying to develop enough guys that we can play at that championship level, but that’s my philosophy, that’s always has been my philosophy. Hopefully, we’re going to just improve our play. 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. I hope that we can continue to improve on the little things because that’s what it’s going to come down to. It’s just the little things. If we’re going to chase greatness, we’ve got to improve in the little areas. Those little minute things that we think are not that important, but they are very important when you are playing against high level competition.”

On how different Joshua Josephs is from last year and how different it’s going to be on that strong side of the defensive line…
“Josh is closer now to what he was when he first got here. Where last year, he sort of took a dip and, I guess, went into that sophomore lull. Where now, he’s coming back more energized, more focused (with) 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 Joshua Josephs that’s here right now, I really am.

“At the strong side defensive end (position), we’ve got some good guys there. You got (Dominic Bailey) and (Tyre West) that do a really good job of complementing each other. They are very different in some ways, but they do a very good job of complementing each other. (Jayson Jenkins) has had a really good camp, you know going forward. You got (Tyree Weathersby) right there with them. I’m excited about the guys, it’s just now about continuing to move the needle in the right direction.”

Junior DL Jaxson Moi

On why he transferred to Tennessee…
“I knew when I hit the portal that I wanted to be a part of a really explosive defense with a lot of D-line production. I had seen that it was very prominent here at Tennessee with coach Banks’ defense. I also wanted to be a part of a great culture. I’m a really big people person, I’m a big locker room guy, so really getting to know coach Heupel and his staff that he’s built and the players that are in this locker room; there was no better place for me.”

On transferring into an already deep defensive line room…
“It’s been a great learning experience for sure. I knew if I came here I was going to have to compete, but I know at the next level I’m going to have to compete so I’m not afraid of competition. It’s been great. The older guys, we’ve been able to compete, but I would say that it’s been competitive not combative. We lift each other up. We want to do great, but we don’t want anyone to do bad. Honestly, great atmosphere and great environment for sure.”

Sophomore DL Caleb Herring

On how much bigger we was able to get during the offseason…
“Last year I came in around 205 (pounds) and now I’m up to 250, so yeah, I’ve put on around 45 pounds. The highest I got up to was around 255. I’m still trying to get adjusted to the weight, but I’ve been feeling good.”

On what the energy has been like in the defensive line room…
“The energy is always there, especially with coach G (Rodney Garner) and the way he coaches. He coaches us in a tough manner but at the same time, we all know why he’s doing that. He’s trying to push us to the best of our abilities. Something I learned from B.Y. (VFL Byron Young) – I heard him say this in an interview – don’t listen to the tone, listen to the message because he’s just trying to get it across and trying to make you better. For the guys, we’ve made it to where it is player led. Big O (Omari Thomas), Big E (Elijah Simmons), really all those guys – they’ve been to us. And just the competition in that room, everybody is trying to push each other to get better and just continuing to build on from there. We’re never satisfied.”

RS-Freshman DL Tyree Weathersby

On how tough Coach Rodney Garner coaching style is…
“He’s going to coach you aggressively, you know he’s going to stay on you and make sure. He’s more so about building men, as well. He isn’t just all about coaching (football). He is about building character and all that. Of course, he is hard on you but at the end of the day, I mean that is what we all came here for.”

On what it is like getting back from the injury that kept him out last season…
“We are about to get right now, so at this point I’m just here to work and compete. I’m 100 percent now, so I am just looking forward to the season and competing in fall camp.”