Willie Martinez pleased with Tennessee's defensive backs

Tennessee defensive backs coach Willie Martinez has returned to Knoxville for a second stint with the Volunteers, and he’s already excited with the pieces in place — mainly, transfer defensive backs Brandon Turnage and Kamal Hadden, as well as returners Alontae Taylor and Warren Burrell.

“Obviously, you really don’t know how they learn – as far as in the meeting rooms and being to execute the stuff on the field,” Martinez said. “And they’ve been really good, both of them, as far as having the knowledge of how to execute our defense.”

Turnage and Hadden both joined the Volunteers this offseason after unique transfer circumstances. Although both prospects have potential, Martinez acknowledged that Turnage is further ahead in his development.

“One is obviously ahead of the other,” he said. “He’s got more experience as far as a standpoint of playing in this conference, and I would say that’s Turnage.”

Turnage was far from a starter, but he certainly has experience playing a role in a top-ranked defense. He spent the last two seasons at Alabama, one spent redshirting and the other as a redshirt freshman. In his final season with the Crimson Tide, Turnage came off the bench — albeit, rarely — to play sporadic fourth-quarter minutes. He registered a pass breakup against Mississippi State on Oct. 31, and he played as part of the Crimson Tide’s special teams unit against both LSU and Arkansas.

Having played for Alabama, the former four-star recruit and 2020 national champion has a leg up in the competition.

“[Hadden] was at a SEC school this spring, that does help a little bit,” Martinez said. “But I’ve been really pleased to be honest with you. They’ve been really competitive. Obviously, they’re mature, they’re older and I love their skill set. But again, we’re a work in progress and I just like the way they’ve done a great job of connecting with everybody else in the room, and they’ve done a great job of that.”

As Martinez pointed out, Hadden is not new to the SEC. A three-star product out of Independence Community College, Hadden signed with Auburn and enrolled with the Tigers in January. After former head coach Gus Malzahn was replaced by Bryan Harsin, Hadden decided to transfer to Tennessee.

Taylor, a senior, and Burrell, a junior, come to Tennessee with a plethora of experience playing in the SEC. Martinez sang high praise for Burrell, labeling him the program’s top defensive back.

“Warren was our best defensive back, and most consistent, in the springtime,” Martinez said. “He’s just really added to that in camp. Warren has been very consistent.”

While Burrell started four games in 2020, Taylor started five, missing a few games only for injury. The injury kept him sidelined through the spring, but Martinez still thinks Taylor has a chance to make an immediate impact as a returning back.

“Alontae missed some practice in spring, he didn’t have as many practices [and] was a little rusty at the end of spring,” Martinez said. “Then the summertime kicked it into gear. Obviously, his experience, being somebody that has a lot of reps in the league, it’s showing in some of the adjustments he makes.”