What LB coach William Inge said after Saturday morning's Tennessee Football practice

Everything Tennessee Football linebacker coach William Inge said after Saturday morning’s practice, the third of fall camp:

The depth in Tennessee’s linebacker room, what he’s seen from some of the younger players so far

“Yeah, we’ve been definitely very pleased with the depth that we have thus far. And when it comes to the younger backers, primarily from Jadon Perlotte to Jaedon Harmon, who were not here in the spring, it’s been a pleasant surprise to see those guys probably, number one, from a preparation standpoint, but also from a skill standpoint, seeing the things that they can bring to the table. It’s been really good. And then you throw in Brendan Anes, who actually got to be here during the winter period in the bowl prep and in the spring, it just adds to the depth and to the competition in the room.”

The growth of Tennessee linebacker Arion Carter from Year 1 to Year 2

“Yeah, I think that what you see, he’s been probably consistent. It’s still been the same scenario. When you come here in the morning, he’ll be the first one here. 

You come here at night, he’ll be the last one leaving. And now I think from a leadership standpoint, what he’s done is really turn into the player-led organization part of the program, where he’s making sure the rest of the guys are doing some of those same things. So it’s not just him dealing with the linebackers, but him also dealing with the secondary, D-line, O-line and just his communication that he has around the guys on the team. And that’s what you want when you take the next step in leadership. And he’s also doing the same thing we talk all the time where in order for you to be a dominant linebacker, dominant player that’s known, it is about leadership and production and he’s producing on the field as well.”

If the leadership qualities of Arion Carter or Jeremiah Tealander have changed with time

“Well, those are the things that we teach and we talk daily. The one thing that we’re teaching and preaching, and from my perspective, leading, is we’re always teaching leadership. So from a leadership standpoint, they have evolved into being better leaders. And most of the time that’s going to happen with what you have to do with your actions and what you have to do, what you call sweat equity, the work that you put in around your teammates. Because everyone’s going to see that you could be a very good leader, but you having to say nothing but you having to have great actions. If you have great actions, everyone’s going to be able to follow you. Luckily, those guys can act and speak now. So that’s what you’re seeing, a culmination of some of those things that have happened over the last year and a half, two years.” 

What he has seen from Tennessee freshmen Jadon Perlotte and Jaedon Harmon

“Some of that is for sure the things that I have to be able to do. Because you don’t know what their level of preparation is, what the level of teaching was kind of beforehand. You can think about what it may be, but I’m definitely pleased from a preparation standpoint to see the work that they put in to make sure that they’re right. You can see, like immediately, Jadon Harmon got under the wing of Arion Carter. And it could not have been any better. And to see Perlotte just somehow matriculate to be under the wing of Telander. And it’s something that I didn’t have to really push to see Perlotte and Brenden Anes get under Telander, because they’re both playing kind of the Mike positions. So seeing them, I think their biggest asset has been their level of preparation. Because I told them in the spring, you’re not getting the physical rep, but you have to get the mental rep. So whenever we go to walkthroughs or in the practices, there were some things we would look at one-on-one. And just seeing them understand how it applied, now that they’ve had the opportunity to do some of those things, you can see their learning double just in the four practices now that they’ve had a chance to experience it. And with them, you do something good, I tell them, keep it in the jar, keep the top on the jar. So when that comes out again, you can remember. If there’s something that wasn’t so good, hey, let’s throw it out and remember it needs to be this. And they’ve been very good with the correction phase.”

Tennessee stacking up talent through recruiting, retaining

“Recruiting is a constant process. So the one thing I want to do in my room is to have the very best platform for everyone to be able to go in and play. And I tell them, if you’re prepared and you understand how not to beat yourself, you’ll have a chance to play. And something I take a lot of pride in for me, from a coaching standpoint, is putting our players in positions where they all can play. And that’s what I tell them in the recruiting process. If you do what you’re supposed to do, you’re going to have a chance to play. And that’s what we want to be able to do, and that’s our job. Now that you have a brand and that Power T, which is the mighty icon of the SEC, you can go into any home and sell them the vision that’s very real. And it’s a real vision because when they push play, they see it. They see it. And our reputation has really, it really destroys our past.”

Edwin Spillman’s growth, his role

“Edwin would be what you would call the monster of the room because he doesn’t have to speak a lot because you have Arion and Telander there. But when he does speak, he is very active, and he is someone who is literally biting the heels off of those guys when it comes to his performance, his actions, his leadership and his trust level. So, he is someone that we have a high regard for when it comes to putting him on the football field.”

Dealing with a room that has so much youth

“Well, we tell them that the life that you’re gonna be in, it’s like you’re drinking from a fire hose. But also, I want to make sure that you know, even though some of the guys like Arion and Telander, they have playing experience, I keep the heat turned up on them, as well, so they don’t know that they’re an experienced player. What I’m able to do is to give them level 300 questions to some of the situations, and I can keep some of the younger players at level 100 and bring them along slowly but surely. And luckily, as we have time and you endure the growth process, everyone still gets matriculated into the same system, into the same teachings. So, that’s been the one thing that we’ve done with our process, is a lot of times, I do get some time with the young guys just specifically only them, so I can bring them along. And we also bring in the older guys or the veterans who have played before, where they get with them and bring them along and that’s how you become player-led. And for us, that’s our mission, is to make sure that the separation isn’t so far between the new players that don’t have a lot of playing experience, combined with the players that do have a lot of playing experience. Because in our system, in our world that we live in, young guys don’t have time to be young.”

Jaedon Harmon, Jadon Perlotte going under the wings of Arion Carter, Jeremiah Telander

“When you talk about seeing flashes, holy smokes. Like let’s say just with Perlotte, I have to keep a rope on him because he is the one where you have to say whoa, instead of sick ’em. When the ball is snapped, he goes 150 miles per hour. All the time. All the time.

“Harmon is your quiet leader, where he’ll be so prepared, and he knows and understands everything that’s going on. He’s like a slither as he finds his way around and he’s always around the football. And that’s exactly what you want and what we’ve seen the last couple of days.”

The next step for Arion Carter, Jeremiah Telander

“I think just for them being consistent at the point of attack, that is our No. 1 mission. When you’re at the point of attack, you have to be able to make your play. And that’s been our main sight now, is getting to the point of attack and now let’s not just make the tackle, let’s create a takeaway. And that’s how you take the next step.”

What will make Edwin Spillman special

“His ability to attack, and that’s what — he’s the combination of both Arion with his speed and physicality, and Telander with his ability to run through a wall. Like if you had a brick wall up, he’s like the Incredible Hulk because he is going through the wall. And that’s literally exactly what we love about Edwin. And I think that’s where he’s going to continue to keep on rising. He’s like yeast. Every day, he gets better, he gets taller, he gets bigger. Everything that you want out of a player. It is a blessing to have him on our football team.”