What Tennessee defensive line coach Rodney Garner said on Tuesday

Everything Tennessee Football defensive line coach Rodney Garner said during his press conference on Tuesday, as the 15th-ranked Vols (3-1) prepare to play at Mississippi State (4-0) on Saturday (4:15 p.m. Eastern Time, SEC Network) and Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville:

Dominic Bailey moving inside early this season

“Well, I’m not saying he’s going to be just a full-time interior guy. He’s a guy that can do both, so as guys get healthy, you get guys back, obviously he gives us flexibility to be able to do some different things. We did, all last year, in the rabbits package, mostly it was him and Omarr that played inside. So he had inside reps. They were mainly on third down situations. So this year he’s had to take more first and second down reps in there. So I definitely think that he will be the Swiss Army knife type of guy that can do both. And we’ve got to continue to take advantage of the that.”

Making veteran Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen uncomfortable

“Well like I told them, this is going to be a very good football team, great environment to go into. Nnone of these guys, unfortunately, have had an opportunity to play in Starkville. Which I told them is a very unique place with the cowbells and all that stuff. It’s going to be a great environment and obviously this guy’s (Shapen) a really good football player and they have a really good scheme. So we’ve got to make sure that we’re focusing on our fundamentals and our technique and that we’ve got to play mistake-free football. I thought last week we took a step forward in playing cleaner, because that’s one of the things, I think, against UGA— I thought the guys played really hard, but we didn’t play very smart. So it was good for us to have an opportunity to go out there and play smarter this past weekend and hopefully that we can build on that because they’re a big offensive line. They’re gigantic. So they’ve got some really big men and the quarterback’s a really good player and they’ve got really good running backs and good receivers. So it’s going to be a big challenge. So we’re going to have to be the best version of us come Saturday.”

His assessment of Tyre West and Tyree Weathersby at strongside defensive end

“Well, I think, Weathersby had a really good game the first game against Syracuse. He played really well. And then he gets banged up and then West goes out and he has a really good game. He gets banged up. So we got to just be able to stack some good on some good. But I think both of those Tyrees, we’re better football team when we can get them at full speed.”

Tennessee’s defense seeing tempo in practice preparing them for Mississippi State

“I think they’re very similar. I think Coach Lebby, obviously, he worked with Coach Heup at Central Florida. So it’s something that we’ve been preparing for. Obviously, it’s going to be challenging. It always is, even though you try to do it in practice. It’s still hard to simulate actual real time reps, even in practice. So it’s going to be a challenge. We’ve got to make sure that we’re hydrated. We’ve got to get back at our eye set. And we’ve got to get them the calls quickly so they can get their feet and eyes set so they can key and diagnose pre-snap so we can be more efficient and play better and play smarter.”

Mississippi State’s rushing offense, preparing for it schematically

“Well, like I said, they’re very similar to us. Everybody thinks it’s just fun and gun, but we run the ball very successfully. And these offenses, they mimic each other. So that’s why they’re successful because they have a really good run game. So we’ve got to fit our gaps. We’ve got to be gap sound. We’ve got to win some one-on-one blocks. They do a great job at the point of attack on their combos and moving the first level, keeping their eyes to the second level. So we’ve got to be able to anchor, don’t get displaced and all that. It’s going to be a big challenge for us, obviously, upfront, but if you’re going to play in this league, that’s what you got to do. We got to play at our best level.”

Tennessee freshmen Mariyon Dye, Isaiah Campbell

“Well, obviously, you know, those guys, they’ve got a tremendous skill set, but still just learning the nuances of playing D-Line in this league. It’s a tough league. It’s one where you’ve got to rely on your fundamentals and your technique, and you’ve got to learn how to strain and finish. Where you may have been in high school, those guys usually were the best guys out there on the field, and they were able to get away with some things that may not have been fundamental, which you can’t get away here. But so the opportunity to play those guys the number of snaps that they got to play last week, I think it’s going to pay tremendous dividends for us going forward and for them going forward, because the only way they’re gonna get better is to actually get out there and have an opportunity to play. I think you see the Campbell kid, he made some plays last week, and he’s been getting better every week, and that’s the challenge to be better tomorrow than we were today. So that’s the thing that we try to stress in that room, that it’s a process. We have to trust the process and keep moving forward.”

Tennessee’s high snap counts for Dominic Bailey and Bryson Eason

“Well, those guys, I’ve been very pleased and proud of the way Eason and Bailey have stepped up and the things that they’ve done in the absence of some guys. So, I know it’s a little bit different style than what we’ve been able to do in the past, where we had more numbers. And moving Dom inside when Jaxson went down, we just made the decision that that was the best thing for this team. For us to put the best lineup out there on the field was for us to be able to move him inside and move the Weathersby kid and West to get those guys more reps. And then also it gave us an opportunity to get Dye more quality reps. So we just tried to strategically do the things that we need to do. And I think the Robinson kid is coming along. I’ve been pleased with how he’s played thus far. And then, like I said, I thought this past week Campbell taking that next step. So we just need for guys to continue to improve and get better so we can take some wear and tear. So it’s good to be able to get those younger guys more reps this past week.”

Tennessee’s pass rush from the LEO position

“I think those guys have done a really good job of affecting the quarterback in some crucial situations, too. So, I think, obviously, we need to all continue to get better. If we’re going to truly be a good front we have to be able to affect the quarterback with a four-man rush, at times not having to bring five, and all that. And if we can do that with our twist games and those things right there, we’ll help us be a better defense.”