Andre Turrentine recalls ‘leadership camp’ with former Vol Jaylen McCollough

The Tennessee defense is once again expected to lead the way for the Vols on the field this fall and the secondary should be a leading force on that side of the football.

Still, with the uncertainly currently surrounding sophomore Boo Carter, and All-American cornerback Jermod McCoy still working back from a torn ACL, there’s some new surrounding the Tennessee secondary in fall camp.

That’s where veteran Andre Turrentine becomes so valuable. Not only will he lead Tennessee’s safety rotation this fall, a position group that lost three of the top four contributors from a season ago. but the fifth-year senior will be a resource underclassmen can rely on and a leader on and off the field.

So far, he’s welcomed the task.  

“He’s been awesome from a leadership perspective. He’s definitely been a voice in that room,” defensive coordinator Tim Banks said on Tuesday. “He’s got a great work ethic. I think his body has changed. I think he has gotten stronger. I know he has got stronger. We’ll see him continue to play with even greater confidence.

“He’s one of the guys you can kick the scheme around to, and if he doesn’t understand it, then it’s a good chance nobody will understand it. He’s kind of been the sounding board for us as a coaching staff in the backend.”

So, is leadership natural for Turrentine? A guy that was once a true freshman at Ohio State and the new guy in the room when transferring back home to Tennessee ahead of the 2022 season. Has he always been a leader?

The makings of a leader has always been there, but for Turrentine, the final week of the 2023 season was instrumental as he took note of everything former Vol Jaylen McCollough had to say.

“Tank leaving – his last game and his last week, we spent the entire week together. Him just telling me that that was going to be the role that I needed to take up for the group,” Turrentine reflected. “Showing me the things that I need to get better at, the things that already were inside of me that I needed to grow a little bit to be able to bring the best out of everybody around us.”

The safety registered a career-high 545 saps last fall as a first-year, full-time starter. He started all 13 games and recorded 37 tackles with one interception and three pass breakups. Turrentine will be a key leader on defense for the Vols in 2025, but there’s still areas to where his game expects to improve along the way.  

“He did a lot of really good things for us but as we watched the tape and some of the private conversations we have had, I think he understands there’s still some meat on the bone, and some things that he can do better,” Banks said of his veteran safety.

As Turrentine aims to reach another level with his play on the field, the safety will be there to lead the defensive backfield every step of the way.

“Not everybody leads the same and not everybody can be led the same. So, I think there is a natural piece of leadership inside of me,” the senior concluded. “But I think there’s things that I needed to grow on in the off-season that I’ve talked to my coaches and my peers about. I think I’ve used emphasis with that to get better.”